


Huntsman

by I_Am_Ox



Category: Lost in Space (TV 2018)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:26:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24706795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Am_Ox/pseuds/I_Am_Ox
Summary: I came up with the concept for this story as I wondered how exactly Will escaped from the robots on the alien planet. I also wanted to flesh out the universe a bit (both from human and alien perspectives), so this story picks up at the start of the final episode of season 2 and extends way beyond... What danger is lurking on the Fortuna? Will the kids make it to the colony? Read on and find out!
Kudos: 12





	1. The UNSS Huntsman

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So in this chapter we start with a profile of Commander Paul Travers and then jump straight into the action... I won't say any more than that for now :)  
> I've got plenty more chapters to come so please let me know if you enjoyed and would like to see more!

**_Subject:_ ** _Commander Paul Stephen Travers, First Officer_

**_Age:_ ** _42_

**_Place of Birth:_ ** _Portsmouth, England_

**_Qualifications:_ ** _[REDACTED]_

**_Experience:_ ** _[REDACTED]_

**_Biography:_ **

_Commander Travers was born into a wealthy family with a rich history of military service. It was therefore only natural that he enlisted into the Royal Navy at an early age as a commissioned officer, going on to serve aboard the HMS Ark Royal II. At some point during this time, while engaged in manoeuvres in the middle east, he developed a strong interest in nuclear physics and completed a distance learning degree while still on active service – a remarkable achievement._

_Returning home, Travers was promoted to the rank of Commander and spent several years as a key member of the Global Response Initiative – a small team dedicated to the rapid distribution of support and supplies to disaster areas. He also furthered his education, completing not only a master’s degree in quantum mechanics but a PHD on the subject of nuclear propulsion systems._

_Following the first contact event of 2044 (commonly known as the ‘Christmas Star Incident’), Travers was among the first to arrive on scene as part of the international relief effort. He was instrumental in the evacuation of the surrounding area and eventually took the lead on security, working closely with his American colleagues. It was here that he and a civilian scientist named Benjamin Adler, on loan to the US government from the British Ministry of Defence, made several staggering breakthroughs in communicating with the alien pilot._

_With the ecosystem of the Earth becoming increasingly unstable, Travers involved himself with the Resolute project, acting as a propulsion systems advisor. He then served as the ship’s Head of Security on its maiden voyage to Alpha Centauri, recording four further uneventful trips before emigrating with his young family to the colony as part of the Sixth Wave – made up almost exclusively of military and construction personnel._

_Upon his arrival, he took part in overseeing the construction of the UNSS Ganges orbital platform, helping to ensure its completion in record time. During this period, the star system suffered an incursion from a scout ship belonging to the race we know now as the Awakened – discovering its hostile intentions, Travers pursued the craft in a welding pod and managed to lure it into the path of the UNSS Ganges’ prototype Gauss cannons, preventing its escape and ensuring the continued safety of the colony._

_Following this action, Travers turned down promotion to Captain, instead preferring to retain his existing rank and take up the position of First Officer aboard the First Fleet’s new flagship – the UNSS Huntsman._

**_Report by Commander Chin Liu, Head of Medical – UNSS Huntsman_ **

****

*Hiss*

“Captain on deck!”

The crew of the UNSS Huntsman stood as Captain Julius strode onto the bridge.

“As you were,” Julius said, heading to his chair in the centre of the room. Travers hastily vacated it and took up position at his own station.

“Number one,” Julius began, “Any reason why we’re currently at a standstill?”

“It appears we are experiencing difficulties with the jump drive, Captain,” Travers explained, his English tones clipped and precise. “Some form of anomaly has dropped us out of FOL.”

Julius frowned and pressed a button on the arm of his chair, opening a channel to the Huntsman’s Chief Engineer. “Talk to me, Mr Clarke?”

“I dannae know what tae tell ye, Cap’n!” Clarke’s unmistakable Scottish tones rang around the bridge. “I’ve never seen anything like this before!”

Julius’ frown deepened, “How long until we are fully operational?”

Clarke paused for a second before replying, “The drive has gone into full shutdown, Cap’n. We’re talking two hours, at least.”

“Understood, Mr Clarke. Get to work, we need to continue our search as soon as possible.”

“Aye, Cap’n!”

Julius closed the channel and addressed his crew, “Number one, get Rodriguez up here. Mr Romeo, make ready impulse engines, and Mr Friday, will you kindly find out where in God’s name we are?”

“Aye, sir,” The bridge became a hive of activity as the Captain’s instructions were carried out. A few moments later, the door hissed open again and a massive, bald man with a bright red face entered.

“Commander Rodriguez on deck,” Travers announced.

Rodriguez, the ship’s Head of Security and resident enormous Spaniard, took one look at the navigation screen and exclaimed, “ _¡Santamaria!_ I do not like the look of this, Capitano!”

Julius cracked a smile, “Mr Rodriguez, all that’s out there is empty space.”

Rodriguez rounded on the Captain. “Exactly, Capitano. The worst threats are those you are yet to see!”

Julius’ smile broadened into a grin, “Then I suggest you get to your station and prepare for them.”

Rodriguez inclined his head graciously, “At once, Capitano.”

Friday, the Navigation Officer, cleared his throat, “Skipper, looks like we’ve landed in Sector Lima, quadrant three.”

“Strange,” Julius mused, “Why here? Anything on scanners, Mr Carlsen?”

Carlsen, the Weapons Officer, shook his head. “Nothing at all, sir.”

“When was the last visit to Sector Lima?” Julius asked.

Travers consulted his screen, “Never, Captain. It would appear we are boldly going where no man has gone before,” He chuckled at his own reference.

“Funny, number one,” Julius said, more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “Mr Friday, what’s out there?”

“Basic star system, skipper. Charts show five planets, orbiting a single star.”

“Then we may as well take a closer look,” Julius decided, addressing the Helmsman, “Mr Romeo, impulse engines; all ahead, full.”

“Aye aye, sir. All ahead, full,” Romeo’s hands settled on the twin joysticks in front of him. There was a dull rumbling sound and barely perceptible tremor as the ship’s huge thrusters began to propel it forward.

A moment later, there was a call from Willems, the Communications Officer, “Captain, I’m picking up a signal… It’s coming from the planet closest to us and using a distress frequency – very weak.”

“On speaker, Mr Willems,” Julius instructed. Willems played signal over the bridge’s speakers.

*Fzzzzz* *Chhhhh* “Mayday…” *Bzzzz* “May…” *Chhhhh* “Mayday…” *Fzzzz*

The signal faded away into static and Willems switched it off. Julius exchanged a glance with Travers, “So much for boldly going, number one.”

Travers nodded, “Mr Willems, I take it the source of that signal is, indeed… Human?”

“Aye, sir,” Willems replied, “Human and not a loop, either. We heard that message in real time.”

“Then our course of action is clear,” Julius sat bolt upright in his chair, “Mr Carlsen, go to yellow alert. Sound action stations.”

Carlsen did something on his console, sounding a ship-wide klaxon.

*Whoop* *Whoop* *Whoop*

“Mr Romeo,” Julius continued, “Alter course to enter a high geocentric orbit around that planet. Mr Rodriguez, prepare a landing party. Take the shuttle.”

“Aye aye, sir,” Romeo acknowledged, bringing the ship around.

“Of course, Capitano,” Rodriguez stomped off happily.

“Time to orbit, Mr Romeo?” Travers left his station to stand next to the Helmsman.

“Two minutes, sir,” Came the reply. The planet swiftly growing on the ship’s navigation screen in front of them was red and rocky, its lower atmosphere dotted with a patchwork of fluffy white clouds.

“Contact!” Carlsen yelled suddenly.

“On screen,” Julius instructed, “Asteroid?”

“Negative, sir,” Carlsen replied, “It’s… It’s some form of artificial structure, in orbit around the planet.”

The image on the screen changed to display a huge, grey shape, silhouetted against the planet.

“Captain, I’m picking up another signal,” Willems cut in, “It’s the transponder signature of an Ark-class colony vessel.”

A murmur of disbelief ran around the bridge.

“But that’s impossible,” Travers breathed.

“It’s the Resolute, sir,” Willems said.

“Are you certain?” Julius asked.

“Of course I’m cert…” Willems bristled, then remembered who he was addressing, “I mean… There’s no mistaking it, Captain. It’s her.”

“Scanners support that,” Carlsen called out, “The structure is metallic, likely of Human origin and roughly the same size as the Resolute.”

“What are the odds…” Julius growled, “We spend months looking for that ship, then end up right on top of her by chance.”

“There’s no such thing as chance, Captain,” Travers said cynically.

“Thanks for that, number one,” Julius replied with equal sarcasm.

“Rodriguez to bridge,” A heavily accented voice crackled over the speakers. “Landing party is ready to depart, Capitano.”

Romeo turned to face the Captain, “HGO achieved and stable, sir.”

Julius glanced at Travers, his question unspoken. Travers paused a moment before speaking, “If something happened to the Resolute, there could be survivors down there. At the very least, someone on that planet is in danger.”

Julius nodded his agreement and opened a channel to the shuttle, “Affirmative, Mr Rodriguez. Your orders are to investigate the distress signal. Mr Travers will send you a fix now.”

“Understood, Capitano!” Rodriguez shouted happily. Travers couldn’t help but wonder if the man needed a radio at all.

“Mr Willems, hail the Resolute. See if you can raise them,” Julius instructed his Communications Officer, who busied himself with his equipment.

* * *

Will was scared.

It hadn’t been so bad when he’d had something to focus on. He’d yelled down the radio until he could yell no more, desperate to hear another human voice, any reassurance that everything was going to be okay. After what had felt like forever, he’d managed to raise an answer from Victor’s Jupiter. The good news was he and the last few colonists hadn’t yet left the planet.

The bad news was it would take him at least forty-five minutes to reach Will.

 _If he comes at all,_ Will couldn’t help but contemplate. He knew Victor. The man wouldn’t hesitate to put the lives of the many before the lives of the few. In other words, the lives of the remaining colonists before that of the youngest Robinson, hopelessly alone, afraid and surrounded by countless alien robots.

 _He’ll come_ , Will repeated in his head for the hundredth time, hugging his knees closer to his chest to gain what little security he could. _He has to come_.

Will had remained in the cockpit for a while, occupying himself by releasing the door lock and keeping an eye on the activities of the robots through the windshield. Initially, they had seemed merely curious of the Jupiter, but as soon as one had spotted him peering through the plexiglass they had made it their mission to get inside.

*BANG*

Will shuddered as something impacted the hull, rocking the entire ship. He had retreated into the central room of the Jupiter when a robot fired at him, scorching the cockpit windshield and causing a disturbing number of cracks. This had put paid to any plans he may have had involving communicating with them.

*BANG*

Even with the lockdown protocol activated, Will was all too aware the room wouldn’t hold out forever. He pressed his body harder against the couch, trying hard to keep his breathing even.

He doesn’t want to think about Ben.

All he can think about is how scared he is.

Of how long the robots will take to get in.

Of what they’ll do to him.

*BANG*

 _How long has it been?_ Will checked the communicator on his wrist. _Only eighteen minutes?!_

He rapped it with his knuckles, as if somehow the digital numbers had got caught up and stopped. Of course, they hadn’t. He ran through some quick mental calculations; the effects that the weather, fuel, cargo and number of passengers could have on Victor’s arrival time. Of course, this was completely futile. He had no idea what any of these factors were.

 _That’s if he’s coming at all_.

He wished Robot was there. Robot would know what to do. Robot would protect him. But instead, Robot was far away, locked away and being tortured on the Resolute. All because of him.

*BANG*

Will shook his head to banish the unwanted thoughts. He couldn’t allow himself to spiral, not now. _What would Don say?_ Don was always upbeat, sometimes irritatingly so – he always saw the bright side, even when he was incarcerated. Will was glad he was on the Resolute, helping keep his Mom and Dad and sisters safe. Together, they’d be fine.

_What was I thinking, coming here?_

That reminded Will of Ben and Scarecrow, and he had to bite his tongue to stop himself from losing it all together.

 _Deep breaths. Just breathe, honey._ He remembered his Mom’s words, how she’d brushed a stray lock of hair off his forehead as he waited in that cold white room for the stress test. It seemed a lifetime ago. In fact, Will considered, it probably was.

A lifetime that would end on this strange planet, alone and so terribly afraid at the claws of an alien robot.

* * *

“Pre-flight checks complete,” Schwartz reached for the bank of switches situated above the pilot’s seat, “Commencing engine start sequence.”

“Gauges green, turbines spooling,” Seated next to him, Eustace read aloud from his display. He swivelled in his seat to face the third member of the landing party, “Bet you’re glad to be getting away from Clarke for a few ‘ours, Frosty. Dunno about you, but ‘e does my bloody nut in.”

Frost smiled back at the rough-and-ready Londoner occupying the co-pilot’s seat. Still in his teens and fresh from the colony on Alpha Centauri, this was to be Frost’s first time on an unexplored planet.

“He’s not so bad,” Frost replied, unconvincing.

Eustace snorted, “Not so bad? He put one of the lads on a fizzer for forgetting ‘e takes two sugars. Bloke’s mental.”

“Trust you to take offense over tea,” Schwartz said dryly, finishing with the engines.

“That’s just it, it wasn’t even tea!” Eustace was in full flow, “It was bloody coffee! I know they say all geniuses are mad, but that’s taking the biscuit…”

“Was it a custard cream?” Schwartz asked.

Eustace realised Schwartz was winding him up and bashed him over the helmet with his clipboard, “Shut up, you dick.”

Rodriguez chose that moment to enter from the cargo area behind them. “Time to go,” He said simply.

Schwartz spoke into his microphone, “Cormorant to control, open hanger doors.”

The huge jaws at the rear of the hangar slowly swung open, exposing its interior to the vacuum of space. Frost jumped a little when a plume of gas abruptly vented from a pipe on the ceiling and was thankful when nobody noticed.

“Take us out, Lieutenant,” Rodriguez instructed.

“Aye aye, sir,” Schwartz slid the throttle handles slowly forward and pressed a button on his joystick. A computerised voice sounded in the cockpit.

“Launch programme activated. Five, four, three, two, one, launch.”

*WOOSH*

The acceleration pinned the four occupants back against their seats as the shuttle was fired clear of the Huntsman’s hangar.

“Going to maximum thrust,” Schwartz dipped the nose towards the planet below.


	2. Rescue Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we start by learning a bit more about Commander Clarke, the Huntsman's Chief Engineer. The bridge crew make a terrifying discovery and we rejoin Will on the surface of the planet as the rescue shuttle closes in.

**_Subject:_ ** _Commander Alexander Clarke, Chief Engineer_

**_Age:_ ** _51_

**_Place of Birth:_ ** _Edinburgh, Scotland_

**_Qualifications:_ ** _[REDACTED]_

**_Experience:_ ** _[REDACTED]_

**_Biography:_ **

_Once one is able to overcome the obvious amusement caused by a having a diminutive Scotsman as Chief Engineer, it is not an exaggeration to state that, if anything, Commander Clarke is overqualified to serve aboard a First Fleet vessel. Born into humble circumstances in his native Scotland, Clarke left school at sixteen, citing reasons such as, “It’s a waste of my time tae listen tae these sassenachs any longer!” and went to work in a local factory. It took him just three months to climb the career ladder and reach supervisor, by which point he had entirely redesigned the factory, increasing productivity by approximately five hundred percent. This earned him and numerous other employees the sack, as the systems introduced by Clarke rendered most Human staff unnecessary._

_Following this combined success and disaster, Clarke decided to give education another try and applied to both Oxford and Cambridge Universities – upon his acceptance, in typical style he decided to attend both simultaneously. Following the completion of two PHDs on the subject of sub-atomic particle physics (a subject he maintains he always knew more about than his teachers, despite his only practical experience at the time being with conveyor belts), he accepted a job offer from NASA and emigrated to the United States._

_He spent several years there working on several systems that remain classified to this day, including an early prototype of the Gauss cannon. Following the 2044 first contact event, he was offered the chance to work with Commander Paul Travers on the project but declined due to his strong personal feelings on the welfare of all species – with the exception, apparently, of the technicians that work beneath him._

_Following the maiden voyage of the Resolute some years later, Clarke’s interest was finally piqued, and he transferred to a secretive division dedicated to the development of a Human-built jump drive. This was particularly challenging as Clarke was only able to study and eventually reverse-engineer the Awakened propulsion system when the Resolute was in the orbit of Earth, once every six to eight months._

_Eventually, as with most things, Clarke succeeded in developing a prototype and it was successfully tested by the late Captain Geoffrey Correa when he accompanied the Resolute to Alpha Centauri aboard the UNSS Enterprise, shortly before his demise._

_Following this success, Clarke begrudgingly accepted a military commission and travelled aboard the Resolute to the UNSS Ganges. By the time he arrived, he had completely reimagined one third of the Resolute’s essential systems, increasing its efficiency tenfold._

_Clarke played a key part in the construction of the UNSS Huntsman, resulting in him becoming the obvious choice to take on the role of Chief Engineer. He accepted the position with trademark reluctance but, somewhere deep down, more than a little pride._

**_Report by Commander Chin Liu, Head of Medical – UNSS Huntsman_ **

* * *

“What in God’s name could have kept the Resolute stranded here for so long?” Julius leant on the arm of his chair, brooding. His eyes were fixed on the screen which displayed the distant shape of the colony ship as it orbited the planet.

“She looks dead in the water,” Travers observed, standing at Julius’ shoulder, “Structural malfunction, perhaps? Or, maybe…” He trailed off.

“Maybe what, number one?” Julius turned to look at him.

“Maybe they lost control of the navigator,” Travers finished.

Carlsen finished at his station, “Captain, scans indicate the Resolute has taken damage, but all systems seem operational. I was able to detect life signs on board and the signature of the engine is present. I don’t understand it.”

“The Resolute is answering our hail,” Willems called out triumphantly, “They want to speak to our Captain.”

“Open a channel,” Julius instructed.

Willems flicked a switch, “Channel open, sir.”

“This is Captain Julius of the UNSS Huntsman calling the Resolute. Are you receiving me?” Julius spoke clearly.

There was a burst of static, then a reply, the confusion in the speaker’s voice evident, “This is Captain Kamal of the Resolute. We are receiving you, Huntsman. What are your intentions and how are you… Here?”

“Captain Kamal, our mission is to escort you safely to Alpha Centauri. I understand you must have many questions, but our first priority is the safety of your colonists. What is your status?” Julius could not afford to get dragged into explaining their origin just yet.

There was a pause. Before Kamal could reply, Willems spun in his seat and spoke urgently, “Sir, incoming call from Lieutenant Rodriguez. It’s priority one.”

“Get as much information from the Captain as you can,” Julius instructed Travers, who nodded and hurried away to the conference room. Then, Julius motioned to Willems, “On speaker.”

*Bzzzzzt* *Chhhh* “Rodri… There…” *Crrrrrrrr* “Surfac… Jupit… Contact… Awakened…” *Zzzzzzzt*

The signal dropped out and there was a deathly silence on the Bridge. It was Carlsen that broke it.

“Did… Did he say Awakened?”

Then, another signal penetrated the static playing over the speakers. Every man present recognised it’s undulating, whistling tone. An alarm went off, indicating they were being scanned, and Julius barked an order.

“Red alert, Mr Carlsen!”

Once again, the bridge became a hive of activity. Julius opened a channel to engineering, “How long until we are FOL capable, Mr Clarke?”

“Just over an hour, Cap’n!” Clarke replied breathlessly.

Julius growled and looked at Willems, “Can we raise the shuttle?”

“Negative, sir,” Willems worked frantically on his equipment, “There seems to be a jamming signal coming from the surface of the planet. We’re completely cut off.”

Julius scowled, “The Awakened must be blocking our communications. Explains why we barely heard that distress signal. Mr Romeo, impulse engines – we need to get closer to the Resolute.”

* * *

“Time to target, Lieutenant?” Rodriguez inquired, adjusting his Fleet-issue purple space suit and fiddling with the climate control, “Is hotter than _el culo del diablo_ in here!”

“According to our coordinates, the distress signal came from somewhere just past those ‘oodoos,” Eustace replied, wafting his hand in the direction of a rocky outcrop in the distance.

“This planet is beautiful…” Frost observed, gazing out of the windshield. Then, he spotted the electrical storm clouds gathering in front of them, “We’re… We’re going to fly through them?”

Schwartz chuckled, “People don’t get into difficulties in perfect weather.”

“If in doubt, go and look in the middle of a bloody storm,” Eustace added cheerfully.

Rodriguez smiled, “We should let the Capitano know we are close.”

“Aye aye,” Eustace attempted to radio the Huntsman, but the only response was static, “Strange… This storm must be interfering with our comms.”

Rodriguez wasn’t overly concerned, “Do not worry, we will investigate and report back.”

It took the shuttle another thirty seconds to reach the line of hoodoos that guarded the horizon, each colossal mound silhouetted against a backdrop of jet-black clouds.

“We’re here,” Schwartz guided the shuttle down in a tight arc.

The scene below would stay with them forever.

The landscape was scarred by a gargantuan metal line, sunk into the ground and stretching as far as the eye could see to both the East and West. It was covered in strange runic markings and had tall, spire-topped towers interspersed at regular intervals along it, one of which was almost directly below them.

“Bloody ‘ell…” Eustace breathed, voicing everyone’s thoughts in his own unique way.

“Look, over there,” Schwartz held the shuttle steady in a hover, “It’s a ship, Jupiter-class. The distress signal must have come from there.”

“Let’s check it out,” Eustace said. Schwartz obliged, bringing the shuttle closer to the Jupiter.

“Take a look at the damage on that ship,” Schwartz remarked, “Are they energy weapon scorches?”

“Bloody mental…” Eustace agreed.

“Watch out!” It was Frost who spotted them first. The noise of the hovering shuttle had apparently drawn the attention of a silvery creature, slipping out from beneath the Jupiter. Standing tall on four huge legs, it aimed some form of weapon at the shuttle and fired. The blast missed them by inches.

“ _¡SANTAMARIA!_ ” Rodriguez bellowed, “Evasive manoeuvres!”

Schwartz didn’t need telling twice. He hauled the shuttle around in a tight climbing turn, slamming its occupants back against their seats. Below them, more of the creatures emerged from beneath the Jupiter, weapons glowing and raised, their skin glittering in the flash of distant lightning strikes. Frost counted at least a dozen.

“Get the gun online,” Schwartz called to Eustace, “I’ll try and lead them away from the Jupiter.”

“Way ahead of you, mate,” Eustace already had the reticle for the shuttle’s nose-mounted rotary cannon showing on his head-up display.

“Rodriguez to Huntsman. Come in, Huntsman,” Rodriguez didn’t wait for a reply – he knew he wasn’t going to get one. “Encountered multiple hostiles on surface of planet. Distress signal came from a Jupiter.” He broke off to quickly glance through the windshield, “Contact with Awakened warriors. We are engaging.”

“Commencing attack run,” Schwartz said, his voice terse.

“Tally-ho,” Eustace acknowledged, sticking out his tongue to concentrate.

“For Pete’s sake, don’t hit the Jupiter,” Schwartz sent the shuttle into a screaming dive, heading directly for the creatures below.

“When ‘ave I ever hit anything?” Eustace grinned darkly.

“Fire at will, Lieutenant,” Showing incredible balance, Rodriguez disappeared into the rear of the shuttle.

Schwartz pulled up at the last moment, sending the Cormorant blasting low over the Awakened warriors. The red glow of their faces reflected in the cockpit windshield as Eustace opened fire – he couldn’t miss.

“Guns, guns, guns!”

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPP*

The shuttle rattled with recoil as the rotary cannon roared its battle cry. Two robots collapsed, their control nodes shattered by incendiary shells.

“Good hits,” Schwartz dragged the shuttle back into the sky, then hauled it back around for another pass. Frost was doing his very best not to be sick.

“’Ere we come again, you bastards,” Eustace grinned, lining up the reticle. The Awakened seemed to have completely forgotten about the Jupiter and were now focussing their firepower exclusively on the shuttle. Energy bursts flew perilously close by the Cormorant and one creature even sprang a good ten meters in the air in an attempt to latch on. However, it missed, fell directly into the path of an incendiary shell, and exploded.

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPP*

The Awakened suddenly seemed to reach an accord. They fell back to the nearby tower as one, squeezing off pulses in the direction of the shuttle to cover their retreat.

“Good flying, Lieutenant!” Rodriguez bellowed heartily, reappearing from the cargo bay accompanied by a comically large machine gun, “Here is the plan! You drop me off on the Jupiter!” He paused and stared at Frost, “Remind me, what is your name?”

If they hadn’t been in combat, the others might have laughed. This was classic Rodriguez.

“That’s Frosty,” Eustace said with a grin.

Rodriguez nodded, “Frosty! Can you fly a Jupiter?”

“I, uh…” Frost was taken aback.

“Can you fly a Jupiter?” Rodriguez demanded.

“Uh, yeah, I guess so,” Frost managed.

“Good,” Rodriguez turned back to the two pilots, “Frosty is coming with me, too!”

Ignoring Frost’s expression of horror, Rodriguez turned and left the cockpit, “Come on!”

Eustace chuckled, swivelled in his seat and offered his fist for Frost to spud, “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. We’ll cover you from up here. Have fun, mate!”

Frost unbuckled his harness, managed a weak smile in response to Eustace, then nervously followed Rodriguez into the cargo bay. He found the huge Spaniard hastily rigging a cable above an open hatch.

“Fast rope!” Rodriguez said with a grin, by way of explanation. Then he dropped his visor, grabbed hold of the cable and jumped out.

Frost thumped the side of his helmet, closing his own visor. After taking a couple of deep breaths, he followed.

* * *

Will could tell they were looking for him.

It had been precisely four minutes – he’d counted every second – since the first robot had gained access to the Jupiter. He guessed it had blasted its way in through the garage door, left unfastened by Ben on his one-way mission. Will had heard the terrifying sound of sharp claws scrabbling along the corridor outside his room and instinctively tried to hide – the only place he’d been able to think of was under the table.

This seemed to have been an unlikely masterstroke.

Although Will had caught glimpses of glowing red faces peering in through the windows, they didn’t seem to have spotted him yet. Perhaps this was due to the dimness of the emergency lights that had been running since the lightning hit, or maybe he was just doing a good job of keeping still. Each time one of the robots scuttled past, though, he was sure they’d hear his heart beating.

_Victor has to get here soon._

But what was Victor going to do when he did? In his mind’s eye, Will pictured Victor’s expression when he saw the robots swarming all over the Jupiter. He imagined Victor turning his Jupiter around and heading back to the Resolute, always so keen to protect the greater number of his colonists. He thought of Victor telling his family that Will was already dead when he arrived, that it had been too late, that there had been nothing he could have done.

For the first time, a tear threatened to roll down Will’s cheek. He sniffed and wiped it away angrily. _What did I tell you about spiralling?_ His internal monologue chided him. _Victor will get here soon, and then everything will be…_ He froze.

*Scccccrrrrrrrrraaaaaaape*

The sound was coming from the door. Will clamped his hand over his mouth in a vain attempt to silence his rapid breathing.

*Sccccccccccrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaape*

The same sound again, but longer and louder.

*BANG*

Something heavy hit the door.

This was it. They’d found him. It was over.

Will wondered if perhaps he should extricate himself from under the table and try to put up a fight, but the futility of the idea made him cringe. Without Robot, he was so _weak_ , so _helpless._ Without Robot, he was back to being the smallest, the one that always needed protecting. Will _hated it_.

Another tear. This time, Will let it fall. Then another, followed by another. He found himself almost wishing the robots would hurry up and get it over with.

*Scccccrrrrrrrrraaaaaaape*

*Scccccrrrrrrrrraaaaaaape*

Then silence for a moment.

Will raised his head a little.

The sound had stopped, replaced by a dull whine. A whine that was getting louder.

Confused, Will manoeuvred himself partially out from under the table. He cast a fearful glance around him, half afraid that the robots and gained access and were playing some sort of sick trick on him. But, there was no sign of them and still the whine was getting louder, now building to a roar.

 _Maybe it’s Victor?_ Will’s heart gave a little skip as he considered the possibility. _It doesn’t sound like a Jupiter._

Curiosity got the better of Will. He moved to the window that lined up with the cockpit and peered through. Through the cracked and scorched windshield, he was just in time to see a strange, angular craft dropping from the sky towards a mass of robots, spewing fire from its nose.

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPP*

The craft flew so low overhead that Will instinctively ducked as the Jupiter rocked in its wake. Although only close enough to see for the briefest of moments, Will was able to make out a strange crest on its tail, along with the words:

**ACF-04**

**UNSS Cormorant**

_It was Human. It had to be._

Will stood there, frozen.

The sound of the craft grew quieter and then louder again. It was coming back.

A single thought was suddenly clear in Will’s mind. He had to escape his prison, the shattered Jupiter, before the robots returned. Turning, he went back to the table, deactivated the lockdown protocol and ran as fast as his unsteady legs would carry him to the ladder that led to the garage.

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPP*

More gunfire. He hoped that meant all the robots were outside, not lying in wait for him below.

Shakily, Will began to climb down the ladder.

* * *

Wind howled across the Jupiter, interspersed by wildly inaccurate energy bursts from the retreating Awakened warriors. Rodriguez, who had apparently been waiting for Frost to descend, gestured impatiently for him to gain access to the ship.

“Go inside!” Rodriguez yelled over the intercom, “I will shoot them!” He pointed in the direction of the Awakened, then made for the forward edge of the Jupiter, unslinging his machine gun from his shoulder. Impulsively, he removed his helmet, chuckling as an energy burst whizzed dangerously close to his shaven head.

“YOU WANT SOME, BITCHES?” Rodriguez bellowed. Unsurprisingly, there was no reply. With a guffaw, he opened fire, “HAHAHAHA! EAT LEAD, ALIEN _CAPULLOS_!”

Frost, reaching the bottom of the aft ladder, brought up a map of the Jupiter’s layout in his mind’s eye. He started toward where he remembered the garage door to be and was jubilant to find it open. He stepped inside, hand resting on his holster more for comfort than anything else, and immediately collided with a boy running at full tilt in the opposite direction.

“Oof…” Frost hit the floor. The boy did the same, but was back on his feet before Frost even had a chance to sit up.

“Hey, wait up,” Frost rasped, momentarily winded. “It’s okay, I’m Human.”

The boy stared at him through his helmet visor, eyes wide. “Who… Who are you?”

“My name’s Ensign Josh Frost. I’m a Technician aboard the UNSS Huntsman,” Frost clambered to his feet painfully, “Was it you who made the distress call?”

The boy nodded, his face still the picture of confusion, “Yeah, that was me. I’m Will, Will Robinson. You’re… You’re not from the colonist group?”

“I was, a long time ago, but not your colonist group,” Frost replied, gesturing for them to go inside, “Come on, it’s not safe out here.”

“It’s not safe in there, either!” Will replied vehemently, backing away. He had no desire to go back inside the place he had just spent arguably the worst forty minutes of his life.

“It’s okay, we’ve come to get you out of here,” Frost persisted, taking Will by the arm, “Is there anyone else inside?”

Will resented the physical contact and for a moment considered breaking free, “No, it’s just me.”

Frost frowned a little, but seemed to accept this, “Okay, we need to get the cockpit. Did you say there were some, uh… Aliens, inside?”

“There were, but not anymore,” Will answered, “But if you’re planning on flying the Jupiter out of here, it won’t work. It’s too badly damaged.”

Frost smiled, “Let me take a look,” He led the way up the ladder and into the ship.

Will _hated_ it when people treated him like a kid. Why wouldn’t they listen to him? He knew the workings of a Jupiter better than most – he’d helped keep one running for months upon end on the water planet – but still, adults thought they knew better than him, just because they were older. Still, he followed Frost to the cockpit, a little wary in his movements in case a stray Robot had remained behind and was hiding somewhere on the ship.

Arriving at the cockpit, Frost took one look at the fried control consoles and knew he’d made a mistake. This Jupiter had arrived at its final resting place. It would never fly again.

“Sorry,” Frost removed his helmet and ran a gloved hand through his buzz cut, “You were right, this ship is finished.”

Will was a little taken aback by how much younger Frost looked without his helmet. He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Will himself.

“It’s… Okay…” Will croaked, now even more confused.

“Commander, we’ve got a problem. I found the crew, but this Jupiter is damaged beyond repair. There’s nothing I can do,” Frost spoke into his radio.

“Do not worry,” Rodriguez shouted back, “Come outside, and you will see!”

Will and Frost exchanged a puzzled glance, then retraced their steps to the garage. Stepping outside, they heard the unmistakable rumble of Jupiter engines. Then, looking skywards, they saw another Jupiter coming in low, covered by the rotary cannon of the Cormorant.

 _He came. He actually came._ Will almost couldn’t believe it.

“This way, come on!” Victor called from the open hatch of the hovering Jupiter, dropping a rope ladder.

“Time to go,” Frost steered Will in the direction of the Jupiter and looked back over his shoulder at Rodriguez.

“AAAARGH!” With a roar, Rodriguez expended the last of his ammunition and flung away his weapon. He vaulted off the side of the stricken Jupiter, landing with a roll and sprinting towards the hovering ship.

Seeing Will was almost at the top of the ladder, Frost started to climb – by the time he’d reached the top, he’d almost been overtaken by a very flushed but triumphant Rodriguez.

“ _¡_ _Hola a todos!_ ” Rodriguez said with a grin, stepping inside the Jupiter.

Victor withdrew the ladder and closed the hatch, “Will,” He acknowledged first, a flicker of kindness in his brown eyes.

“Mr Dhar,” Will said quietly, “Thank you… For coming for me.”

“Of course,” Victor said absently, turning to stare at the new arrivals. He took in their purple space suits, adorned with silver crests and rank insignia, “Who the devil are you?”

“Not the devil,” Rodriguez said, his grin broadening as he extended a massive hand.

“Although they’re easily confused,” Frost found himself nudging Will.

Will, a little surprised, glanced at Frost and laughed. The big Spaniard was certainly intimidating.

“I am Commander Nicolas Rodriguez, UNSS Huntsman.”


	3. Boarding the Resolute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for chapter 3! We start with a report on Commander Rodriguez, you may recognise him from another of my stories as I love writing for him haha. Frost meets Don West, Travers meets Captain Kamal and we discover the fate of the Cormorant...

**_Subject:_ ** _Commander Nicolas Rodriguez Sanchez da Silva, Head of Security_

**_Age:_ ** _40_

**_Place of Birth:_ ** _Granada, Spain_

**_Qualifications:_ ** _[UNKNOWN]_

**_Experience:_ ** _[UNKNOWN]_

**_Biography:_ **

_Following years of study, I have concluded that Commander Rodriguez is, in fact, crazy._

_It’s not his complete and utter disregard for his own safety. It’s not his unhinged, toothy grin in times of danger. It’s not even his affection for ludicrously large and dangerous weaponry. It’s the only way he could possibly have survived this long._

_Admittedly, I have found it hard to discover much of Rodriguez’s past. Questioning him regarding details beyond his full name simply brings a smile and wink before he changes the subject – normally to a matter such as how many grenades he has. However, Rodriguez is fiercely loyal to both his Captain and crew and I truly believe he would do anything to protect them._

_What I do know is that Rodriguez has been in and out of the military his entire life, possibly in the service of several different countries. While apparently strongly patriotic towards his native Spain, he appears to have spent time travelling the world, searching for the thrill of firing a .50 calibre machine gun in combat. Eventually, he seemed to decide it was time for a new challenge and somehow discovered the existence of the soon-to-be First Fleet. He turned up at a classified training centre, demanding admittance._

_In a moment of wisdom, the officer in charge put him through the recruitment tests, which he breezed through with record scores. This earned him a place in the training programme and he eventually served as a junior security officer with Captain Geoffrey Correa aboard the UNSS Enterprise._

_Perhaps what truly defined Rodriguez was the destruction of this ship and the death of his comrades. He is believed to have been the sole survivor, his massive size rendering him unable to squeeze into the final remaining lifepod. Choosing to stay behind in the abandoned and burning ship so that others might escape, he survived the Awakened extermination by chance and was fortunate to be picked up by a shuttle many hours later. I believe this experience is what fuelled his unbridled hatred for the Awakened race._

_Rodriguez went on to serve with distinction on the UNSS Ganges, leading to his selection by Captain Robert Julius to be Head of Security aboard the UNSS Huntsman. I must say, I’m just glad he’s on our side._

**_Report by Commander Chin Liu, Head of Medical – UNSS Huntsman_ **

* * *

Julius paced around the bridge of the Huntsman. He’d started by treading laps of the room but had now reverted to retracing the same ten steps, back and forth, in front of his chair.

“Captain…” Travers began, then broke off with a sigh. In truth, they were all anxious to learn the fate of the shuttle.

“Hmm?” Julius looked up from his daze, continuing to pace.

“Nothing, Captain,” Travers replied, “I was only going to…”

“Contact!” Carlsen yelled suddenly, “It’s the Cormorant, Captain, and there’s another ship behind it… Jupiter-class. They’re alive, sir!”

Travers leant forward against his station, “Thank heavens for that.”

“Mr Willems, get me a channel to the Cormorant,” Julius returned to his chair for the first time in a while. He sat bolt upright, hands resting on the arms of the seat.

“Channel open, sir,” Willems flicked a switch and cocked his head, listening intently. The sound of static filled the bridge.

“This is Captain Julius. Can you hear me, Cormorant?”

“Lieutenant Schw… Here, sir…” Although the transmission was broken, it was far more coherent than before, “All present… Accounted for...”

“Mr Schwartz, what in God’s name has been going on down there?” Julius demanded.

“Encountered… Large number of Awakened warriors… Jupiter under attack… Rescued…” Willems frowned, did something on his console and the transmission clarified, “…Commander Rodriguez and Ensign Frost are aboard the Jupiter, along with all survivors. They are returning to the Resolute.”

“Excellent work, Lieutenant,” Julius sank back. However, his relief was short-lived.

“ _Ahem_ ,” Schwartz audibly cleared his throat, “That’s not all, sir.”

“This planet is a bloody Ringworld!” Another voice cut in.

“A _what_?” Julius leapt out of his chair.

“He’s right, sir,” Inside the shuttle, Schwartz looked daggers at Eustace, “The planet has been converted into an Awakened animation facility. I mean, I’ve never seen one before, but it’s just like they said in the briefing…” Schwartz realised he was rambling and trailed off.

Julius and Travers exchanged another loaded, wordless glance.

“Sir?” Schwartz’s voice crackled on the line.

There was another shout from Carlsen, “Contact, unidentified vessel, leaving the planet’s atmosphere now!”

“Hail them, Mr Willems,” Julius growled, before addressing Schwartz, “Lieutenant, were you pursued?”

“Not to my knowledge, although our scanners have taken damage,” Schwartz replied.

“Get back here, Mr Schwartz,” Julius motioned for Willems to terminate the connection.

Willems did so, then turned to look at the Captain, “No response to our hail, sir. Only this,” He played a brief audio clip over the speakers. It was the same undulating, whistling tone as before.

“I see,” Julius narrowed his eyes, “Mr Carlsen, sound battle stations.”

“Aye, sir, battle stations.”

*Whoop* *Whoop* *Whoop*

The door hissed open and a handful of officers entered, quickly manning the empty seats around the bridge. Two burly security personnel flanked the door, handguns at their sides. Julius waited for everyone to take their positions before addressing the crew, “Gentlemen, our intentions are to defend the Resolute and her crew by any means necessary. Get the deflectors online, ready all countermeasures and charge Gauss cannons.”

“Aye aye, sir!”

“Impulse power, Mr Romeo. Bring us alongside the Resolute.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Captain, fault with the Gauss cannons. Primary armament unserviceable,” Carlsen called, his voice tense.

Julius snarled and punched a button on the arm of his chair, “Mr Clarke, what’s wrong with my guns?”

“We’ve had tae do a full system reset to get the drive back online, Cap’n!” The clang of metal on metal and fizz of welding torches was clearly audible in the background, “It pains me tae tell ye we’ve got nae cannons for now!”

Julius took a deep breath, “How long, Mr Clarke?”

“Thirty minutes, tops, Cap’n!”

“I need that cut in half. Divert all power from non-essential systems to deflectors.”

“On it, Cap’n!”

“Sir, incoming call from the Resolute,” Willems reported, “They’ve detected the unidentified vessel and want to know what to do.”

“Tell them we are aware of its presence and will assist them with preparations to repel boarders,” Julius replied, turning to Travers, “Number one, I need you aboard the Resolute. Take a security team, as many as you need.”

“Certainly, Captain,” Travers departed.

* * *

Moving dead slow, the UNSS Huntsman closed in on the hulking shape of the Resolute. A translucent tube snaked across the gap between the ships and latched onto the Resolute’s airlock.

The crewman in the Huntsman’s forward turret took his eye off the range finder and called down the hall to Travers, “Boarding tunnel deployed, sir! Life support initialising.”

Outside, the tube inflated, turning it rigid. The airlock doors at both ends slid open, venting plumes of gas as the pressure equalised. Travers, at the head of a security team, led the way down the tunnel at a jog. Arriving at the far end, he was met by a woman wearing a civilian bridge officer’s uniform and flanked by two guards.

“Request permission to come aboard, Ma’am?” Travers brought his team to a stop and saluted smartly, as per protocol.

“Granted,” She stepped aside, allowing them passage through the airlock. Once inside, she extended her hand, “I am Sakina Kamal, acting Captain of the Resolute.”

Travers shook it, “Commander Paul Travers, First Officer aboard the UNSS Huntsman. We spoke on the radio. It’s good to meet you, although I’d rather it was under improved circumstances.”

Kamal nodded, “Indeed, Commander. We are grateful for your assistance, although I must admit, I cannot understand how you came to be here.”

“A story for another day, Ma’am,” Travers said evasively.

“So I keep being told,” Kamal didn’t sound best pleased as she led the way to the elevator, “Preparations to receive the… Aliens… Have already begun.”

“We call them the Awakened, Ma’am,” Travers advised.

“Hmm. Another story for another day, I assume?” Kamal pressed a button in the elevator.

Travers smiled slightly, “Quite, Ma’am.”

“So be it,” Kamal shook her head in exasperation, “According to your Captain, the Awakened are eighteen minutes behind our Jupiter, which docked six minutes ago. We believe them to be searching for our engine. I take it you are aware of its origin?”

“We are, Ma’am, and have reached a similar conclusion,” Travers agreed.

The elevator doors slid open and Kamal led the way along a corridor. It was a hive of activity, swarming with colonists and crew alike. Most seemed to be carrying some form of electrical device.

“Our plan is simple,” Kamal began, “We use the engine as bait to draw the Awakened into our deck two workshop, which we are retrofitting with control devices designed for use on… Our navigator. We should be able to use those to destroy them.”

Travers nodded his approval, “That sounds like one of Doctor Adler’s bright ideas.”

“It wasn’t,” Kamal said abruptly, “He didn’t make it off the planet.”

There was a strained silence as Travers digested this, “I, um… I…” Whatever he was going to say, he thought better of it, instead changing the subject, “I’ve heard you have another robot on board. An undamaged one, under your command?”

“Undamaged, yes, but not under my command,” Kamal corrected, “It belongs to a twelve-year-old boy.”

Travers frowned, “This boy… He has some form of neural link with the robot?”

“It seems so,” Kamal said guardedly, “He has it guarding our engine.”

Travers glanced over his shoulder at one of his officers, who simply mouthed the word, “Enlightened.”

“This may seem a strange question, but what colour is the robot?”

This was answered before Kamal could reply. The arrived at the workshop and, in the centre of the floor stood a huge, metallic figure, the Resolute’s engine clutched in its arms. It was blue.

* * *

“Attention, attention. Five minutes to contact with hostile craft,” A strained voice echoed over the Resolute’s tannoy.

Travers ushered two security officers by and spoke into his wrist communicator, “Travers to Huntsman, come in?”

“Loud and clear, number one,” Julius answered immediately, “How are preparations going?”

“As well as can be expected, Captain,” Travers replied, “I only hope this works, for the sake of all these people.”

“It’s a good plan,” Julius said, “I see no reason why it shouldn’t.”

“ _¡Vamos, pendejos!_ Move! Time to go!” A shirtless Rodriguez, rippling muscles glistening with sweat, stormed past Travers. He was accompanied by two unfortunate crewman carrying large spools of wire. The massive Spaniard carried as much as both of them put together.

“We are running out of time,” Travers muttered, the stress evident in his voice.

“I need that cable, now!” Frost yelled, on his hands and knees in the workshop. Ever since arriving on the Jupiter he had been in the thick of the action, working shoulder to shoulder with the colonists on their defences.

“Cable coming right up!” Somebody passed one of Rodriguez’s spools down the line.

Next to Frost, Don West looked up from where he’d spent the last ninety seconds trying to remove the cover from a power outlet. In the end, he’d resorted to a hammer, “Don’t tell me, you’d rather be on your starship?” He grinned.

Frost smiled, nodding his head sharply to drop his welding visor, “News travels fast.”

“I keep my ear to the ground,” Don replied, rummaging in his pocket.

Frost rolled his eyes, “Well, it’s not a starship.”

“You expect me to believe that?” Don persisted, tearing a strip from a roll of duct tape with his teeth, “I bet you’ve got lightsabres and everything.”

Frost finished his welding before replying, “Mostly, we’re lucky if we can even get the heating to work.”

“C’mon, man, you can tell me,” Don discarded the tape over his shoulder and attacked the power outlet with a screwdriver, “If you do, I’ll introduce you to my chicken.”

Frost laughed, “Is that a euphemism?”

“Nope,” Don replied, deadly serious, “Her name’s Debbie.”

“Right. Of course,” Frost shook his head, bewildered. Today had been a crazy day, “I’d rather you introduced me to the robot.”

“Oh, you mean that robot?” Don said casually, glancing over his shoulder at the huge creature, “Yeah, I can arrange that. You wanna speak to Will.”

“Will Robinson?” Frost looked up sharply at the mention of his name.

“Attention, attention. One minute to contact with hostile craft,” A voice echoed around the workshop.

“Guess we’d better get moving,” Don remarked.

“Commander, security teams are in position,” An officer jogged up to Travers and saluted, “But the generators are still only at sixty percent.”

Travers nodded, his eyes anxiously sweeping the frenzied activity on the workshop floor.

“Are you ready, number one?” Julius’ voice came from his communicator.

“Nowhere near,” Travers snapped. He paused a moment to compose himself, “We need more time, Captain.”

On the bridge of the Huntsman, Carlsen shook his head urgently. He held up his hands, displaying the number thirty.

“There is no more time,” Julius replied, “The Awakened arrive in thirty seconds.”

“Rodriguez, get all non-military personnel out of here! Move!” Travers yelled. Rodriguez gave him a thumbs up and began shepherding the throng of colonists to the exit.

“Mr Carlsen, how long until our weapons are serviceable?” Julius demanded.

“Just under six minutes, sir. Engineering report that the system is coming back online as we speak.”

“Generators at seventy percent!” A voice called from somewhere inside the workshop.

An alarm triggered on the bridge of the Huntsman, “Proximity alert. Proximity alert.”

Friday silenced it with a swipe of his hand, “They’re right outside, skipper,” He said.

“Boarding ray detected,” Carlsen called out, “Resolute, deck one.”

“They’ve taken the bait, number one,” Julius passed the message on, “They’re boarding the level above you.”

*BOOM*

An explosion shook the Resolute. Travers staggered against a bulkhead.

“Intruder alert. Intruder alert,” Audible on the Huntsman via Travers’ communicator, the Resolute’s computer made a chilling announcement.

“Get out of there, number one,” Julius ordered.

“THEY’RE COMING!” Someone screamed.


	4. Desperate Measures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, we meet Captain Julius, commanding officer of the Huntsman. Next, we find out if the colonists' plan to trap the Awakened has worked, then a daring escape plan is hatched. This is where we really start to split away from the final episode as I wanted to find an alternative way out for the colonists!

**_Subject:_ ** _Captain Robert Julius, Commanding Officer_

**_Age:_ ** _48_

**_Place of Birth:_ ** _Vermont, United States of America_

**_Qualifications:_ ** _[REDACTED]_

**_Experience:_ ** _[REDACTED]_

**_Biography:_ **

_Captain Julius is iron-willed, persistent and tenacious. He is confident, occasionally overly so, stubborn and dogged. He is obstinate, brave and resilient – all of which make him the perfect candidate to Captain the UNSS Huntsman. In fact, it would not be inaccurate to say that, when the Admiral of the Fleet ordered the construction of the ship, he did so with Julius himself in mind._

_Julius was born to be a Captain. He has spent most of his adult life on nuclear submarines in the employ of the US Navy, working his way up from Ensign to First Officer in a short period of time. Following an unfortunate incident involving its former Captain and a series of indiscretions, Julius was handed command of the USS Nautilus and the considerable task of rebuilding the crew’s morale and trust in their senior officers. He tackled this with trademark aplomb and the Nautilus swiftly became one of the most capable units in the fleet, often tasked with missions of the utmost importance._

_Much to his disgust, Julius was eventually relieved of his command and placed on the Interstellar Conversion Programme – his particular brand of leadership had not gone unnoticed by his superiors. This was where he first met Commander Paul Travers and Commander Nicolas Rodriguez, who would later go on to become key members of his crew._

_After completing his training, Julius travelled on the Resolute to the UNSS Ganges, assuming command of the Huntsman when it was little more than an empty shell. This allowed him to gain a detailed understanding of the ship’s capabilities during its construction and shape strong relationships with those that worked on her – including with Commander Alexander Clarke, his soon-to-be Chief Engineer._

_Perhaps as a result of his workaholic attitude, Julius is estranged from his immediate family, although they now reside in the colony on Alpha Centauri. He never married, but his young daughter is the apple of his eye and he can often be found spending time with her when on brief spells of hard-earned shore leave._

**_Report by Commander Chin Liu, Head of Medical – UNSS Huntsman_ **

* * *

_They’re coming, they’re coming!_

_We’ve still got time…_

_For God’s sake, get out of here!_

_*CLANK* *CLANK* *CLANK*_

_They’re here, they’re here!_

_Oh my God…_

_Steady, steady!_

_Wait for it, wait…_

_Now, hit it!_

_*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT*_

The crew of the Huntsman listened in silence as the chaos aboard the Resolute was relayed through their speakers.

At last, Julius could bear it no longer, “Number one,” He began, almost afraid to hear the answer, “What happened?”

Just static.

It took Willems a moment to realise he was required. Snapping out of his daze, he adjusted his equipment and turned back to Julius, “Try it now, sir.”

“Can you hear me, Commander Travers?” Julius leant forward in his chair.

“This is Travers,” A shaken voice acknowledged, “I hear you.”

“What in God’s name happened?” Julius demanded.

“It… It worked, sir. At least… Partially,” Travers sounded confused.

“Don’t speak in riddles, man!” Julius exploded, immediately regretting it.

Travers seemed to pull himself together, “We have a workshop full of frozen Awakened, Captain. We trapped them all.”

“What do you mean, trapped?”

“It… It seems we were unable to raise a high enough charge to crush them, sir. The field is only strong enough to prevent them from moving. Our people are working on it as we speak.”

“And how long will that take?”

Travers held a whispered conversation with someone before replying, “Around six hours, Captain.”

Carlsen looked over at Julius, “Gauss cannons now fully operational, sir.”

For the first time in a while, Julius visibly relaxed, “Thank you, Mr Carlsen,” He returned his attention to Travers, “Number one, see that those working on increasing the charge have everything they need, then return to the Huntsman.”

“Certainly, Captain. Travers out,” Travers closed the channel.

The quiet lasted all of ten seconds.

“Contact,” Carlsen’s voice rung out, “Correction, contacts… Lots of them!”

“How many is ‘lots’, Mr Carlsen?” Julius asked sharply.

Carlsen was silent for a moment before replying. More and more blips were appearing on his scope, making them impossible to tally, “Too many to count, sir. If I had to guess, I’d say more than a hundred.”

“Asteroids?” Julius knew the answer.

“Negative, sir. Unidentified ships.”

“I’m not picking up any transponder signals, skipper. Should I hail them?” Friday asked.

Julius shook his head, “Just get me a bearing.”

“I can’t, sir,” Carlsen replied, “They’re all around us. They must have come from the other four planets.”

“How long until the first one reaches us?” Julius’ face was grim.

“At their current speed, no more than two hours,” Carlsen answered, his voice hushed.

“Then we have a race against time,” Julius growled, abandoning his chair and making for the door, “Return to action stations, but keep the deflectors powered up. Mr Friday, you have the conn.”

Friday leapt to his feet, “Aye aye, sir.”

* * *

“Even if the engine was already installed, which it isn’t, ye wouldn’t have time tae make the jump!” Clarke’s Scottish tones were barely comprehensible when he was excited, “A ship of the Resolute’s size would leave a rift in space-time for nigh-on three hours. Plenty of time for those Awakened bastards tae follow! And they’ll be here in ninety minutes!”

Seated around the table in the Huntsman’s conference room were Julius, Clarke, Travers, Rodriguez, Kamal and representatives from several colonist households, including John and Maureen Robinson.

Julius held up his hand for quiet, “I think you’ve made your point, Mr Clarke. The Resolute is no longer a solution. I assume we would have the same problem with the Huntsman?”

“Less so, but aye, Cap’n. We dannae have enough time tae get away clean.”

“Then, we’re all doomed,” Victor said grimly, running a hand through his jet-black hair.

Kamal’s brow furrowed, “Give us your idea again, Mr Robinson?”

“Okay. First off, it’s not my idea, it’s my daughter’s – Judy,” John began.

“Noted,” Kamal nodded.

“We figured that, if the Resolute punches a huge rift in the space-time… Thingy, then a smaller ship would make a smaller rift. One that would close quicker. Right?” John continued.

Julius glanced at Clarke. The Chief Engineer nodded guardedly, “Aye, that’s right.”

John frowned, choosing his next words carefully, “So, what if we installed the alien engine on a transport Jupiter and used Will’s robot as the pilot?”

“What good would that do?” Victor snapped, “We can’t fit the entire colonist group on one Jupiter.”

“The entire colony, no,” John replied, “But the children, yes.”

Victor, along with several others, jumped to their feet in disbelief.

John continued hastily, “Judy did the calculations – there are ninety-seven kids aboard the Resolute. If we stripped out all but essential systems and boosted the oxygen supply, we stand a chance of getting them to safety.”

There was silence as everyone digested this.

“Mr Clarke,” Julius began, “How long would it take for the rift left by a Jupiter-class ship to close?”

Clarke did some quick mental arithmetic, “I cannae say for sure without doing the proper calculations, Cap’n… But, it’s likely tae be less than thirty minutes.”

Kamal met Julius’ gaze, “What about the rest of the colonists? My crew?”

“It seems to me you have two options,” Travers replied, addressing the room as a whole, “Either you take to the Jupiters and scatter among the planets in this system, or join us on board the Huntsman. It won’t be comfortable, but if we jettison most of our equipment then there will be enough space for everyone.”

Julius nodded and looked round at the assembled colonists, “It’s your decision. We will remain here to ensure the Jupiter is not followed, then activate our own jump drive. It’s highly likely we’ll be attacked, so we can’t guarantee your safety should you choose to come aboard.”

Clarke bristled at this. Julius smiled and added, “Although, as the flagship of the First Fleet, I’d have thought we’ll put up a good fight.”

“What if… What if something goes wrong?” Maureen spoke for the first time, “With the Jupiter, I mean. The children would be completely alone.”

“Indeed,” Kamal agreed, “The Jupiter must have a Captain, someone to lead our children to safety. Any suggestions?”

After a moment’s silence Victor nodded unexpectedly, sinking down into his chair, “How about your daughter, Judy? This is her idea, it’s only right that she should see it through.”

“Any objections?” Kamal looked around the table. There weren’t any, at least none that were voiced. “Excellent. I shall leave you to inform her, Mrs Robinson.”

“How do we know the Robot will take them to Alpha Centauri?” One of the other assembled colonists asked.

“It would do anything for my son,” Maureen replied, the tiniest hint of pride in her voice.

“Even so, they shouldn’t travel alone,” Julius agreed, “Mr Rodriguez, take the shuttle. You must follow the Jupiter through the wormhole and ensure it reaches the colony. We’ll rendezvous there after we’ve shaken off our tail.”

Rodriguez grinned widely, “Of course, Capitano. I have just the pilots for the job. We will need an engineer, too – Ensign Frosty is good.”

Julius blinked, then decided not to question who ‘Ensign Frosty’ was. Rodriguez’s mind worked in mysterious ways, but he was damn good at his job.

“But, Cap’n!” Clarke looked as though he was about to have an aneurism, “The Cormorant wasnae designed for deep space travel! It’s a shuttle, for Pete’s sake, and that’s all!”

“Can you make it work, Mr Clarke?” Julius asked simply.

“Well… Aye, Cap’n, I guess I could make a few wee modifications…” Clarke trailed off.

“Then you had better get moving. I want that Jupiter gone within the hour,” Julius got to his feet and adjourned the meeting.

* * *

“Join the Fleet, they said. See the universe, they said,” Eustace ran through a checklist in the co-pilot’s seat of the Cormorant, “They never said anything about following an alien robot through a rift in the space-time bloody continuum!”

“Quit whining,” Schwartz said from somewhere behind him, “You didn’t have to volunteer.”

As was customary with dangerous missions, Rodriguez had not ordered them to accompany him. Instead, he had asked for volunteers, and of course each officer present had stepped forwards.

“It wasn’t a ‘who fancies coming?’” Eustace snorted, “It was a ‘come or I’ll stop your pension.’ Besides, someone ‘as to keep you out of trouble.”

Schwartz grinned, joining Eustace at the front of the shuttle, “I knew you couldn’t bear to be away from me.”

“In your dreams,” Eustace rumbled, “You all ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Schwartz settled down in the pilot’s seat, buckling his harness.

* * *

“¡ _Yo cago en el leche de tu puta madre!”_ Rodriguez pounded down a corridor on the Resolute, screaming obscenities in Spanish. He flung up his wrist and called the Huntsman, “The Awakened are escaping, Capitano! The field will not hold them!”

On the flight deck of the Huntsman, Julius was supervising the embarking of the colonists. They were in the process of jettisoning a scanner module to make room for the last few stragglers. He signalled for the controller to depart the Cormorant, “Go now!” Then replied, “The shuttle is on route, Mr Rodriguez.”

Rodriguez rounded a bend and approached Frost, who was helping the last few children board the Jupiter. He poked his head inside the ship, “That’s the last of them.”

“I’ll start the pre-launch,” Judy Robinson called back, making for the cockpit.

Frost smiled reassuringly at a scared-looking kid and closed the hatch, making it fast.

“They. Are. Coming!” Rodriguez arrived, panting hard.

“Who… Who are coming?” Frost looked at the Head of Security’s expression and suddenly felt sick. He knew the answer.

“The shuttle will pick us up,” Rodriguez ignored the question. He glanced around and his gaze settled on a plasma lance, abandoned after the hasty alterations to the Jupiter, “We must hold off the _pendejos_ while the Jupiter launches.”

“Hold… Hold them off?” Frost repeated. “How are we supposed to do that?”

Rodriguez hefted the plasma lance in his huge hands, customary grin plastered firmly cross his features, “With _cojones_ , Ensign Frosty.”

*CLANK* *CLANK* *CLANK*

“T-minus 1 minute,” A computerised voice said from somewhere behind them. It took Frost a moment to realise why he could hear it. Spinning round, he saw the airlock open and Will standing determinedly in the corridor.

*CLANK* *CLANK* *CLANK*

The first of the robots rounded the bend, moving at incredible speed towards them. Four of the creatures scuttled along the walls and ceiling while an enormous warrior pounded along the floor, the rest at its back.

Rodriguez didn’t seem to notice Will standing there. His attention was focussed entirely on the robots. He whirled his plasma lance, preparing to charge at the Awakened horde as if it was the most natural decision in the world. Frost realised he was still wearing the handgun from his excursion to the planet and dropped a hand to its holster.

“Wait!” Will’s voice rang out, travelling clearly down the corridor.

The robots stopped. Rodriguez glanced back over his shoulder, his grin replaced by complete confusion.

“You don’t have to fight. It doesn’t have to be this way!” Will continued, doing his best to conceal the slight tremor in his voice.

“Will Robinson,” The biggest robot vocalised, its tone strange and mechanical.

“Please, just let us go!” Will yelled.

The robots paused for a moment. Then, they lunged towards the Humans.

“¡ _Beso mi culo, puto_!” Rodriguez roared, swinging his plasma lance heartily.

*CRASH*

One of the robots detached itself from the ceiling and landed on its leader. Taken by surprise, the larger robot hit the floor.

“Scarecrow?” Will breathed.

Rodriguez wasted no time, “Get back inside!” He turned and bundled Will back through the hatch.

“T-minus ten seconds,” The computerised voice said.

Rodriguez closed the hatch and turned to Frost, “Helmet on,” He instructed, donning his own, “As soon as they go, we jump.”

“Jump where?” Frost fastened the pressure seal around his neck.

Rodriguez’s smile flashed devilishly through the plexiglass of his helmet, “Outside.”

“You’re crazy,” Frost backed away.

*WOOSH*

The Jupiter detached from the docking port.

“If you want, you can stay in here with them!” Rodriguez bellowed, jerking a thumb at the robot duel that was unfolding barely ten meters away, “Time to go!”

Frost gulped.

Rodriguez punched the hatch’s emergency release, then took a flying leap through it. Frost was about to do the same when he was caught up in the vacuum and sucked outside anyway.

“Good work!” Rodriguez yelled over the radio, grabbing hold of Frost’s ankle.

“Jesus!” Eustace exclaimed, peering out of the Cormorant’s windshield… “Is that… Rodriguez?”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Schwartz muttered, manoeuvring the shuttle closer to where the two officers were floating helplessly outside the Resolute.

“Our taxi is here!” Rodriguez bellowed happily.

“On our way, Commander,” Schwartz replied, unable to supress a smile. Eustace made his way aft, dropping his visor.

The battle inside the Resolute had evidently concluded, as several robots made their way onto the exterior of the ship and began squeezing off energy bursts in the direction of the Cormorant. Eustace tied himself to the interior of the shuttle and pushed off through the open cargo door. As Schwartz brought the shuttle in closer, he grabbed hold of Rodriguez and pushed a button on his belt, reeling them back inside.

“Quite a day for you, mate,” Eustace chuckled to Frost, closing the door behind them.

Frost smiled weakly and took off his helmet.

Rodriguez had already gone forwards and strapped himself into his seat in the cockpit, “Are the Awakened still there?”

“Negative, sir,” Schwartz replied without taking his eyes off the Resolute. “They’ve gone back inside. I guess they’re heading to their ship.”

Rodriguez’s eyes sparkled as Eustace and Frost joined them in the cockpit, “ _Muy bien_. We follow the Jupiter.”

“Aye aye, sir.”


	5. Spanish Ladies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Straight into the action with chapter 5! The Huntsman goes into battle, the children prepare to jump and Will makes a new friend. The song Eustace sings is his version of 'Spanish Ladies', a classic sea shanty. He and Rodriguez have played around with the words to bring them into the 21st Century and give us an idea about interstellar travel... Please let me know if you're enjoying this so far as we reach near enough the halfway point! :)

Julius, still wearing his space suit from the flight deck, sat in his chair on the bridge of the Huntsman. Kamal, John and Maureen were at his side.

“The alien vessel is pulling away,” Carlsen reported, “It’s following the Jupiter.”

“Battle stations, Mr Carlsen,” Julius ordered, “Mr Willems, give them a warning.”

*Whoop* *Whoop* *Whoop*

Willems broadcast on all channels, “This is the UNSS Huntsman calling alien vessel. Change your course immediately, or you will be fired upon,” He turned to Julius after a moment, “No reply, sir, other than the usual.”

“Very well,” Julius responded, “Mr Carlsen, get me a targeting solution for that ship. Primary armament.”

“Aye aye, sir,” Carlsen went to work.

“Impulse power, Mr Romeo,” Julius ordered, “All astern, half.”

“Aye, sir, all astern, half,” Romeo echoed.

“Solution ready,” Carlsen called, “Gauss cannons ready in all respects.”

“Last warning, Mr Willems,” Julius’ knuckles tightened on the armrest of his chair.

“Alien vessel, change your course or you will be fired upon. This is your final warning,” Willems paused, then shook his head at the Captain, “Nothing, sir.”

“Mr Carlsen, fire primary,” Julius ordered.

“Aye, sir, fire primary,” Carlsen popped the safety cover from a button on his console and pressed it with his thumb. The entire bridge vibrated as the Huntsman’s Gauss cannons discharged with a dull rumble.

A few moments later, Carlsen spoke again, “Explosion, bearing three-one-two. Alien vessel is no longer showing on my scope.”

Travers looked up from his station, “Direct hit, Captain. Target destroyed.”

“Good work, gentlemen,” Julius glanced at a relieved John and Maureen, a slight smile playing across his features. Kamal warmly shook hands with Travers.

“The first unidentified vessel will enter weapons range in twenty-two minutes, Captain. Both the Jupiter and the Cormorant are in position to jump,” Carlsen reported.

“Can we speak to them?” John asked.

“Be my guest,” Julius gestured for Willems to open a channel.

* * *

There were tears aplenty aboard the Jupiter. In the cockpit, Judy busied herself with the final few checks, trying not to think about the tremendous responsibility that weighed upon her.

The radio beeped once, announcing an incoming call. Maureen’s voice sounded first, “How are you doing, honey?”

“Everyone’s fine,” Judy half-lied, trying to block out the noise of muffled crying from behind her.

“Listen, Judy,” John’s voice, “The robots’ ship is destroyed, but there are more coming. You have to go now.”

Judy took a couple of deep breaths before replying, “Okay, Dad,” She paused again, “I… I love you.”

“We love you too, honey,” Maureen said.

“We’ll see you soon, Captain Robinson,” Another voice, this time belonging to Julius, said cheerfully.

Despite everything, Judy found herself embarrassed that he’d heard her last comment.

“They’re ready,” Penny stepped into the cockpit, “I’ve introduced a buddy system, so each of the younger ones has a…” She trailed off when she saw Judy was in the middle of a call, “Sorry,” She mouthed.

“I’d better go,” Judy said sharply.

“Good luck, Judy,” John said.

“Godspeed, Captain,” Julius closed the channel.

“Where’s Will?” Judy turned to her sister.

“Being Will,” Penny shrugged and jabbed a thumb in the general direction of their passengers.

“Go and get strapped in,” Judy brushed past her.

“Okay, ‘Captain’,” Penny made a face at her sister’s back, but went to her seat anyway.

Judy found Will kneeling next to one of the youngest children, a boy of around nine. His face was streaked with tears and he clutched a fluffy dinosaur in his hand, something Will had noticed.

“…The Brachiosaurus lived in the late Jurassic period,” Will was in the midst of explaining, “Did you know they were as tall as a four-story building?”

“Cool,” The boy replied, tears momentarily forgotten, “D’ya think there were dinosaurs on Alpha Centauri?”

“Will,” Judy cut in, unable to stop herself smiling, “How about you stop boring this kid and get down to the garage?”

The boy looked up at Judy, then at Will with an expression that clearly said he was anything but bored. Will, however, caught Judy’s hint. He stood and smiled at his new friend, “Catch you later, okay?”

The boy nodded, managing a smile in return.

Judy made her way through the ranks of scared children, patting shoulders and murmuring reassurance as best she could. Penny had done a great job with her buddy system and most of the older kids were doing their utmost to keep the younger ones calm.

“Will,” Judy said urgently as they reached the ladder to the garage, “I need to be in the cockpit when we open the rift, but make sure you tell Robot clearly to take us to Alpha Centauri.”

Will sighed in exasperation, “I’m not a little kid anymore, Judy. I don’t need you to…”

Judy ducked a little so that they were eye to eye, “Will,” She hissed, “Make sure you’re clear.”

Will saw the worry on her face and immediately felt guilty, “Yes, Captain,” He smiled.

Judy nodded, then returned the smile, “Anyway, you’ll always be my kid brother,” She ruffled Will’s hair, much to his disgust, and headed back to the cockpit.

* * *

“This is it, then,” Eustace muttered, “Down the bloody rabbit hole.”

“Shields in position,” Schwartz ran through the final item on his checklist, “I guess we’d better call them.”

“UNSS Cormorant to Transport Jupiter,” Eustace radioed.

“Hello,” Penny’s voice answered brightly. Frost had to suppress a laugh.

“How are you guys doing?” Schwartz asked.

“Oh, you know, we’re fine,” Penny replied, “Some of our passengers are a bit… Sad, though. Or, a bit scared. Or, maybe both.”

Eustace nodded, “We need something to take their minds off…” He remembered that Schwartz had banned him from using the words ‘mad’, ‘dangerous’ and ‘stupid’ to describe their mission and trailed off.

“Are you Captain Robinson?” Schwartz asked. Someone on the other end of the line snorted.

“That’s me,” Another voice replied, “But my name’s Judy.”

“Okay then, Judy, let’s do this thing. We’re right behind you,” Schwartz replied.

“Captain Judy, leave the channel open and put us on speaker,” Eustace said, “I’ve got an idea.”

“Done,” Judy replied, a moment later.

“’Ello boys and girls, it’s shanty time,” Eustace shouted lustily into his microphone, his voice broadcasting over the speakers to every child aboard the Jupiter, “Make sure you all join in with the chorus.”

This time, Frost couldn’t suppress a laugh as Eustace began to sing.

_“Farewell and adieu to you, Spanish Ladies,_

_Farewell and adieu to you Ladies of Spain,_

_For we've received orders to sail for the colony,_

_And we may never see you fair ladies again!”_

“Now, ‘ere comes the chorus,” Eustace yelled. In the garage of the Jupiter, Will looked up at Robot, the blue swirls of his faceplate reflected in the boy’s eyes, “Robot, take us to Alpha Centauri.”

_“We'll rant and we'll roar like true seasoned sailors,_

_We'll rant and we'll roar, go faster than light,_

_Until we make contact in the orbit of the colony,_

_From Earth to Centauri takes thirty-five weeks!”_

Robot looked down at Will, then at the engine, then back at Will again. Will had a sudden feeling he was about to say no.

“Please,” Will added politely.

_“We'll draw our ship to, in the light of the stars, boys,_

_We'll draw our ship to, our deflectors to raise,_

_There were forty-nine strike-ships, each one of them ‘ostile,_

_So we charged up our main guns and blasted away!”_

“Chorus now, boys and girls,” Eustace bellowed. Rodriguez, who had been nodding along appreciatively since the mention of the word ‘Spanish’, joined in.

_“We'll rant and we'll roar like true seasoned sailors,_

_We'll rant and we'll roar, go faster than light,_

_Until we make contact in the orbit of the colony,_

_From Earth to Centauri takes thirty-five weeks!”_

“What’s taking them so long?” John growled, pacing back and forth on the bridge of the Huntsman. Julius and Travers exchanged a glance but said nothing.

“Nineteen minutes,” Carlsen called from his station.

_“The first planet sighted was named after Beinor,_

_Next Agri off Pholus, Eury, Cyllar and Amy,_

_We sailed by Dictys, Perimedes and Chrion,_

_And then we bore straight for the great Rigel light!”_

In the pilot’s seat of the Jupiter, Judy looked over her shoulder and caught Penny’s eye. They smiled at each other as a few of the children joined in with the chorus.

_“We'll rant and we'll roar like true seasoned sailors,_

_We'll rant and we'll roar, go faster than light,_

_Until we make contact in the orbit of the colony,_

_From Earth to Centauri takes thirty-five weeks!”_

Robot laid his hand on the engine, bringing it to life with a brilliant blue glow. The tendrils that snaked from it, covering the entirety of the Jupiter’s garage, pulsed like a living, breathing creature.

“Yes, Will Robinson,” Robot said.

_“Then the signal was made for the First Fleet to anchor,_

_For all in the system, that night were to lie,_

_The Captain was pickled, the First Mate a sober,_

_The crew to a man were somewhere in between!”_

This time, more children joined in.

_“We'll rant and we'll roar like true seasoned sailors,_

_We'll rant and we'll roar, go faster than light,_

_Until we make contact in the orbit of the colony,_

_From Earth to Centauri takes thirty-five weeks!”_

Robot dropped to one knee, carefully sliding an arm around Will’s shoulders. Will smiled and nestled closer to his warm, metallic frame, “I knew you would.”

_“Now let every man drink from a full bottle,_

_Now let every man drink from a full glass,_

_We'll drink and be jolly and die melancholy,_

_And ‘ere's to the ‘ealth of each true-‘earted soul!”_

Ninety-five of the ninety-eight Humans aboard the Jupiter sang along with Eustace. Will closed his eyes, opening his mind to Robot. Penny grinned widely at Judy, mouthing something about how the shanty wasn’t PG-13.

_“We'll rant and we'll roar like true seasoned sailors,_

_We'll rant and we'll roar, go faster than light,_

_Until we make contact in the orbit of the colony,_

_From Earth to Centauri takes thirty-five weeks!”_

Stems of bright light blossomed from deep within the Jupiter, bathing the Cormorant. Then, in a sudden flash, it was gone, leaving a twisting, turning whirlpool of darkness in its place.

“Here we go!” Schwartz slammed the throttle handles forwards. The shuttle lurched towards the rift, touched it, and then was gone too.


	6. Defend the Rift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter, starting with a profile of the Huntsman's bridge crew written by Commander Travers. The Awakened have arrived...

**_Subject:_ ** _UNSS Huntsman Bridge Crew_

_I recommended **Lieutenant Lucas Carlsen** , our Swedish Weapons Officer, personally. At twenty-eight years old, he is young to take up such a key position, but I have the utmost faith in both his ability to fulfil his duties and his knack of staying calm under pressure. As with so many of his origin, I can honestly say I’ve never seen him panic._

**_Lieutenant Jordan Willems_ ** _is an excellent Communications Officer – the best I’ve worked with, in fact. At thirty-five, I felt he was ready for his next challenge and had no qualms in inviting him to join our crew. Although German by nationality, he speaks multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, Russian and Mandarin, making him an ideal choice for the bridge of the Huntsman._

_What can I say about **Lieutenant Jon Friday**? He is Australian, set in his ways, and will insist on calling the Captain ‘skipper’. That said, he is the finest Navigation Officer in the First Fleet and thoroughly deserves his appointment. At thirty-eight years old, he can be a great example to the younger officers, although he has been known to unwind a little too vigorously upon occasion._

_Every flagship needs a top Helmsman and **Lieutenant Franc Romeo** certainly fits the bill. He has spent much of his life steering warships, both on the surface of the Earth and in outer space. The thirty-two-year-old Frenchman is quiet, precise and a superb asset for the Huntsman._

**_Report by Commander Paul Travers, First Officer – UNSS Huntsman_ **

* * *

“They’ve jumped,” Carlsen reported.

“Very well,” Julius punched a button, “Mr Clarke, how long until the rift is closed?”

“Ach, no, ye stupid sassanach!” Clarke bellowed over the speakers.

Julius glanced at Travers, who raised his eyebrows.

“Sorry, Cap’n, I didnae mean you,” Clarke said hastily, “I was talking tae one of these useless…” He trailed off, “What was ye question again?”

There were a few muffled laughs on the bridge. Julius shook his head in exasperation, “How long until the Awakened can no longer follow the Jupiter?”

There was a pause as Clarke ran some calculations, “The rift will be closed in twenty-one minutes and forty seconds, Cap’n.”

Julius looked at Carlsen, who answered the unspoken question, “Fifteen minutes until they enter weapons range, sir.”

“Start the clock, Mr Friday,” Julius ordered, “And you’d better prepare vectors for an emergency jump. I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to.”

“Aye aye, skipper,” A timer flashed up on screen and began counting down as Friday busied himself at his station.

“That means we’ll have to hold off the robots for six minutes,” Maureen said worriedly, “Can we do that?”

“Mrs Robinson, we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the children,” Travers replied, “Now, I suggest you join the other colonists below deck. They will need your support.”

Maureen looked as though she was about to argue, then nodded and made for the door. John shook Travers by the hand, cast a final glance around the bridge, and followed.

“I should check on my crew,” Kamal headed after them, “We are all counting on you, Captain.”

* * *

“I… Can’t… Feel… My… Bloody… Legs!” Eustace yelled, clinging to his seat for dear life.

“Quit… Whining!” Schwartz shouted back, battling to keep the shuttle upright in the swirling currents of the rift.

*BONK*

Rodriguez’s head bounced off the wall as they hit a particularly large bump.

“HAHAHA!” Inexplicably, he seemed to find this amusing.

“I… I… Feel…” Frost only just managed to pop his helmet visor before being sick into a paper bag.

“Almost… There…” Schwartz had spotted the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. In truth, it seemed far darker than the interior of the rift, “Hold… On…”

“I… Am… Bloody… ‘Olding… On…” Eustace muttered.

With a sound not unlike air being expelled from a balloon, the Cormorant exited the rift and appeared barely five hundred yards from the Jupiter.

“No bloody way,” Eustace said in disbelief.

“This doesn’t look like Alpha Centauri,” Frost observed, uncoupling his harness and moving forwards to join the two pilots, “Look at the stars.”

“You’re right,” Schwartz agreed. The journey through the rift had scrambled their navigation system, leaving them blind.

“ _Santamaria_ ,” Rodriguez breathed, staring out of the port window. Outside was what had once been a planet, now shattered into a million shards and bathed in a yellowish glow. Some cataclysmic event had evidently befallen it.

“Jesus,” Eustace murmured, “What the ‘ell ‘appened ‘ere?”

“No clue,” Schwartz replied, unable to tear his gaze away.

* * *

“She’s a beautiful ship,” Travers remarked, gazing at the Resolute on screen, “It seems such a shame to leave her.”

“We’ll have to come back and get her,” Julius replied, “I’m not letting them use my ship as an Earth to Centauri taxi service.”

“Unidentified vessels are thirty seconds out,” Carlsen reported.

“Power up deflectors, Mr Carlsen,” Julius ordered, glancing up at the screen. The countdown timer displayed just over six minutes, “Mr Romeo, are we in position?”

“Aye, sir,” Romeo replied, “Holding steady between them and the rift.”

“Keep it that way,” Julius growled, “Mr Friday, where are you with those vectors?”

“Ready to jump on your command, skipper,” Friday replied.

“Vessels in range,” Carlsen called.

“Targeting solutions, Mr Carlsen,” Julius said, “Mr Willems, you know what to do.”

Willems broadcast on all channels, “This is the UNSS Huntsman calling unidentified vessels. Change your course immediately, or you will be fired upon. This is your final warning.”

“Solutions ready,” Carlsen reported.

“No response, Captain,” Willems said.

“Very well,” Julius drew himself bolt upright in his chair, “Fire at will.”

“Aye, sir, fire at will,” Carlsen initiated the firing procedures. The bridge trembled as the Huntsman’s Gauss cannons rumbled.

There was silence for a moment.

“Three explosions, bearing zero-one-niner,” Carlsen reported, “Recharging primary armament.”

“Direct hits, three targets destroyed,” Travers confirmed.

Julius frowned, “Why haven’t they returned fire?”

“Unsure, sir,” Carlsen keyed in a second set of targeting solutions. Suddenly he spun around in his chair, confusion on his face, “Sir, the ships are flying straight past. It’s as if they haven’t seen us.”

“They are heading straight for the rift, Captain,” Travers’ voice was strained.

Julius’ gaze flashed to the screen. They needed to defend the rift for another five minutes.

“Suggestions?” He barked.

It was Friday who came up with the answer, “Skipper, is there some way we can make them think we have their engine on board?”

Julius and Travers glanced at each other.

“Mr Friday, you’re a genius,” Julius opened a channel to engineering, “Mr Clarke, can you hear me?”

“Aye, Cap’n!”

“Is it possible to alter the signature of our jump drive to mimic the Awakened engine?” Julius asked crisply.

Clarke was momentarily stunned, “Well… Aye, Cap’n… In theory, I could change the electromagnetic oscillation frequency…”

“Just get it done,” Julius looked at Carlsen, “How far are those ships from the rift?”

“Close, sir,” Carlsen replied, “Thirty seconds, maybe less.”

“Make haste, Mr Clarke,” Julius snapped.

“I’m going as fast as I can, Cap’n!” Clarke called, computer keys tapping frantically in the background, “Okay… Starting deception now!”

The silence on the bridge lasted for an agonising length of time. At last, Carlsen reported, “I think it’s working! The ships are turning back… They’re heading straight for us.”

Despite the threat, Julius breathed a sigh of relief, “Good work, everyone. Now, we need to stay alive.”

The crew went to work. A moment later, there was a shout from one of the tracking officers, “Missile launch, bearing two-four-seven!”

“Deploy countermeasures, Mr Carlsen,” Julius said evenly.

“Aye, sir, countermeasures away,” Carlsen replied.

*BOOM*

A muffled explosion shook the bridge. Julius muttered under his breath, fastening the restraints on his chair, “Are we hit?”

“Negative, Captain,” Travers replied, “The missile took the bait. Near miss.”

“Missile launch, bearing two-three-five!” The tracking officer called again.

“Countermeasures, Mr Carlsen,” Julius responded, “Do we have a targeting solution?”

“Aye, sir,” Carlsen replied after a moment.

“Return fire.”

*BOOM*

Another, much larger explosion shook the bridge. The lights dimmed and several circuits shorted, causing sparks to fly across the equipment. Willems cried out and jumped back from his station, his hand badly burned.

“Ugh…” Julius coughed in the smoke, shaking his head to clear it, “Is everyone okay?”

“Fine… Sir…” Willems groaned.

Julius took in his injury at a glance, “Get him down to medical,” He motioned to one of the security officers flanking the door.

“Captain, I…” Willems began, before begrudgingly allowing the officer to lead him to the door.

“Get that hand seen to, then return to your station,” Julius ordered, turning to a dishevelled Travers, “Damage report?”

“Not good, Captain,” Travers replied, “Hull breach in compartment four, emergency bulkheads sealed and holding… Communications array damaged… Deflectors are down to fifty percent… And there’s a fire in compartment seven, a team is tackling it now. We cannot afford to take another hit.”

“Casualties?” Julius glanced up at the countdown. There were still three minutes left.

“No fatalities, seven reported,” Travers read from his screen, “Eight, including Mr Willems.”

“What are your orders, sir?” Carlsen asked, spinning in his seat. “The ships are lining up for another attack.”

“We have to jump, Captain,” Travers advised, “We’ve done all we can here.”

“Negative, number one,” Julius replied, “I won’t risk even the slightest chance of the Awakened pursuing those children to the colony.”

“What’s the alternative?” Travers pressed, “Our defences are depleted, and we must consider the colonists we have on board.”

“How do we stop them from using their missiles?” Julius returned.

“Sir, they’re preparing to fire again,” Carlsen called.

“How, number one?” Julius demanded, then his eyes widened in realisation.

“We have to go now, Captain,” There was a hint of desperation to Travers’ voice.

Julius shook his head and bared his teeth in a grin that could easily have been mistaken for a grimace, “Mr Romeo,” He said, “Impulse power. All ahead, full.”


	7. Bad Fortuna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter seven already! We start by finding out a bit more about Schwartz and Eustace, then the crew of both ships decide to board the Fortuna and make a discovery. Will gets himself in trouble again.

**_Subject:_ ** _UNSS Cormorant Flight Crew_

**_Lieutenant Andrew ‘Drew’ Schwartz_ ** _is among the finest pilots I have served with. He first came to my attention when he transferred to my ship as part of the Royal Navy/US Navy exchange programme. From the moment he first lifted his F-35 Lightning II off the deck of my ship, I knew I had to have him on my team permanently._

_And, the moment I was appointed First Officer of the UNSS Huntsman, I had precisely the same thought._

_His strong relationship with Lieutenant Eustace made him the perfect candidate to act as the pilot of our shuttle, the UNSS Cormorant. He is experienced, resourceful and enjoys a challenge – to the extent that he searches for problems where there are none. I sometimes feel he lives only for the thrill of combat, but this is a quality I have always prized in top fighter pilots._

_I have known **Lieutenant Jack Eustace** for longer than I can remember. In fact, that is not true – I do remember the first day he wandered into the briefing room aboard the Ark Royal, aged just twenty, hands stuffed in his pockets, jacket hanging open. I put him on a charge there and then. He simply shrugged, shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and told me quite rudely that he, in fact, rather enjoyed peeling potatoes. He then said that he thought I had sexual relations with my mother._

_I chose not to discipline him further._

_Eustace does not have a family as such, beyond his beloved West Ham United. He is unusual in that, when he eventually retires from life in the Fleet, he plans on returning to Earth and settling down somewhere in the countryside. If that proves impossible, he often says he will instead head to Alpha Centauri and set up the colony’s first football team. He then crosses his arms over his chest, shouts, “Irons!” and goes back to whatever he was doing._

_Despite all this, I consider Jack a friend._

**_Report by Commander Paul Travers, First Officer – UNSS Huntsman_ **

* * *

“Docking complete,” Schwartz returned the shuttle’s throttle handles to idle.

“Boarding tube secure,” Eustace called from the cargo area behind them.

“Time to go,” Rodriguez headed down the translucent corridor, followed by the others. They reached the far end and the airlock slid open, Judy on the other side.

“Permission to come aboard, Captain?” Rodriguez saluted.

“Of course,” Judy seemed distracted.

The four officers made their way onto the Jupiter, each nodding politely as they passed her.

“We need to talk,” Rodriguez said, inclining his head towards the cockpit.

“Yes… Of course,” Judy repeated, shaking herself out of her daze and leading the way.

“’Ello, boys and girls,” Eustace grinned as they passed through the throng of children amassed in the Jupiter’s central room.

“ _Hola a todos,_ ” Rodriguez added as a few of the kids stared up at him in awe.

“How did he get so big _?_ ” Frost heard one of them whisper.

Arriving at the cockpit, Judy waited for the officers to enter and closed the door behind them, “This is my sister Penny,” She motioned to where Penny sat, perched on a control console, “And my brother Will. He’s in charge of our Robot,” She looked daggers at Will, “And was supposed to tell him to take us to Alpha Centauri.”

“I did!” Will jumped up from his seat in indignation, “He said ‘Yes, Will Robinson’ and opened the rift. Maybe if Mom and Dad were flying…” He trailed off, narrowing his eyes accusingly.

Judy was about to riposte when Penny spoke up, “Look, it doesn’t matter how we got here. All that matters is we’re here now,” She looked at Rodriguez, “What do you suggest we do?”

Rodriguez, despite his massive size, appeared suddenly relieved he hadn’t had to break up an argument, “Have you seen the ship outside?”

Judy nodded, “The Fortuna. My Dad is… Uh, was the Captain,” She sounded as though she couldn’t quite believe it.

“Your father was Grant Kelly?” Frost asked, “I thought you were Mr Robinson’s daughter?”

“Adopted,” Judy replied.

“Oh,” Frost said, “Sorry.”

“What do we know about the Fortuna?” Eustace moved to the windshield to stare out at the ship, “She looks dead in the bloody water.”

“Venture-class exploration ship, launched 2035,” Frost answered automatically, “Third and final ship of her type before they switched to the Ascension-class. Their mission was to land on several potentially habitable planets in the neighbourhood of our solar system – they were only capable of sub-light, so it would have taken at least three years.”

Will cocked his head at Frost, a hint of respect in his eyes. Judy nodded, “That’s right.”

“I still don’t understand why the Enlightened… I mean, your robot, brought us here. Can’t you ask it?” Schwartz looked at Will.

“I tried,” Will replied, “He just showed me a picture of the Fortuna.”

“Then the only place we’re going to get answers is aboard that ship,” Eustace reasoned.

Rodriguez nodded in agreement, “Can we dock with her?”

“No, our boarding tube won’t match their airlock. The Fortuna pre-dates our technology,” Frost explained.

“We’ll have to EVA across,” Schwartz said.

“I’m coming, too,” Judy said. Rodriguez opened his mouth to argue, but Judy continued, “This might be the only chance I have of finding out what happened to my Dad. And, as Captain of this Jupiter, any discoveries we make could be useful for the mission.”

Rodriguez shrugged and exchanged a look with Schwartz, “Fair enough.”

“I guess you’ll want to take Robot?” Will asked innocently.

“Yes,” Frost, Schwartz and Eustace agreed. Rodriguez didn’t seem particularly bothered.

“Then I’ll need to come, too,” Will grinned, “He won’t go without me.”

“Will…” Judy groaned.

“Is too dangerous,” Rodriguez added.

“That ship is no place for…” Schwartz began.

“For what? A kid?” Will burst out, “I can be just as useful as any of you. Who else here has a Robot?”

Schwartz frowned, unsure of how to respond.

“He can look after himself,” Frost cut in unexpectedly, “And we really should take the Enlightened. Who knows what’s waiting for us on the Fortuna?”

“Whatever, but let’s ‘urry up.” Eustace muttered.

“Fine. The boy comes, with the alien,” Rodriguez conceded.

“Great,” Penny muttered, “Guess I’ll just wait here on my own, then.”

“She is right,” Rodriguez agreed, “The children should not be left alone. Lieutenants, one of you must stay.”

Schwartz caught Eustace’s eye, “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes,” Eustace grinned, holding up his fist, “Rock, paper, scissors.”

Schwartz threw rock. Eustace threw paper.

“I hate you so much,” Schwartz growled.

“Unlucky, mate,” Eustace crowed, “Come on, let’s suit up.”

* * *

“Jump drive active, we’re faster than light,” Friday announced. A ragged cheer went up around the bridge. On screen, the countdown read zero.

“We made it, Captain,” Smiling from ear to ear, Travers offered his hand to Julius, “How did you know the Awakened missiles would be ineffective at close range?”

Julius, his expression wry, shook the First Officer’s hand, “I didn’t, number one. I gambled.”

The smile froze on Travers’ face, “You… Gambled, sir? With the Huntsman? With the crew?”

Julius frowned and paused for a moment, “In hindsight, ‘gamble’ is probably the wrong word – it was more of an educated guess. How many missiles don’t have a minimum range?”

Travers briefly considered responding with ‘enough not to try a crazy move like that’, but decided against it, “That was a huge risk, Captain.”

“Why else would they carry energy weapons when their missiles are that effective?” Julius reasoned, “The only chance we had was to use our Gauss cannons up close.”

Travers was silent for a time, “I suppose that’s why you’re the Captain,” He said at last.

* * *

Rodriguez and Robot stood face to face, a wary distance apart – almost as though they were sizing each other up. The Spaniard had an expression of intense distrust splashed across his features, while Robot’s face displayed a slightly redder than usual pattern of swirls.

“Have you ever done an EVA before?” Frost helped Will strap on his thruster pack.

Will shook his head, a little nervous, “No, only in the simulator.”

“You’ll be fine,” Frost reassured him, “Just fix your eyes on the target and keep hold of the cable to stay oriented. Got it?”

“Got it,” Will smiled his thanks, “What about Robot?”

“I don’t think a pack will fit ‘im,” Eustace scratched his head.

To answer Will’s question, Robot reconfigured himself slightly, spinning his arms to face backwards. Evidently, he meant to use his energy weapons as thrusters.

“Suppose ‘e’ll be making ‘is own way there,” Eustace concluded.

“Everyone ready?” Rodriguez placed his hand on the airlock release.

Eustace gave him a thumbs up.

Rodriguez threw the lever. The inner door closed, the chamber depressurised, and then they were released into the vacuum of space.

“Follow me,” Rodriguez instructed, angling his body in the direction of the Fortuna and firing his thrusters. This command was not strictly necessary as each member of the boarding party was attached to a cable that ran from Rodriguez at the front to Eustace at the back and allowed a maximum separation of no more than three metres. Robot watched the Humans leave and followed, launching himself clear of the airlock and flying alongside them.

“That looks like the airlock, over there,” Eustace pointed as they neared the abandoned ship.

Rodriguez adjusted his trajectory. He planted both feet on the Fortuna’s plating and, grasping the airlock’s wheel valve in both hands, strained at it. A moment later, he looked back over his shoulder and simply said, “Seized.”

“You’re up, Frosty,” Eustace said.

Frost detached himself from the line and used a gentle burst from his thrusters to glide alongside Rodriguez, plasma lance in hand. He dimmed the visor of his helmet and set to work on the hinges.

“Okay, I’m through,” It didn’t take him long to cut through the composite material. Rodriguez swung a huge boot at the hatch, detaching the entire chunk of metal and sending it floating off into space.

“Wait here,” Rodriguez detached himself and disappeared inside. The interior was cramped and there was barely enough room for him – after a moment of fiddling with a lifeless control panel, he resorted to pulling the emergency release lever and the inner door of the airlock swung open, “Okay,” He called.

The others followed him inside. Robot took his time, preferring to explore the outside of the ship a little before making his way after the Humans. They found Rodriguez pottering around in a confined hallway, examining pieces of electronic equipment.

“Ensign Frosty, see if you can get life support up and running,” Rodriguez ordered, completely oblivious to Frost’s actual name. Eustace chuckled.

“Aye aye, sir,” Following the signage for ‘Engineering’, Frost floated off into the darkness, his helmet-mounted flashlight projecting a narrow cone of light in front of him.

“Take a look around,” Rodriguez led the way in the opposite direction, his own light reflecting off the silvery substance that coated every inch of the walls and floor.

“Old-school radiation shielding,” Will identified it, “Cool!”

“Less of the ‘old-school’, mate,” Eustace grinned, “Some of us remember when this stuff was invented.”

They soon arrived at what appeared to be a long, low room, easily accounting for half of the ship’s interior space.

“Frosty, ‘urry up with those lights,” Eustace called over the radio.

“Working on it!” Frost’s voice crackled back.

“I wish we could see properly,” Will agreed. Robot, who had until this point been following them silently, carefully nudged past Will and made for the centre of the room. He tilted his head back and increased the brightness of his faceplate, filling the room with bright blue light.

“That works too,” Eustace murmured in awe.

“That’s much better,” Will smiled.

Robot said nothing.

The large, open room before them had clearly been used as a living area. Two walls were occupied with bunk beds and a canteen table stood against another. There was a primitive kitchen, a few pieces of gym equipment, and a small, sectioned off part that had likely functioned as a restroom.

“Come and take a look at this,” Judy called, drifting to the far end of the room.

“What is it?” Will was first at her side.

“An old computer,” She looked down at a bulky laptop screwed to a makeshift workstation.

“Does it work?” Eustace and Rodriguez joined them.

Judy tapped the keyboard with her gloved hand, then withdrew it in surprise as the dusty screen flashed into life with the word ‘NASA’.

“See what you can find,” Rodriguez turned to examine the rest of the room and leapt out of his skin as he found Robot standing behind him, _“Santamaria,_ ” He muttered darkly.

“They only thing on here is video,” Judy said presently, having accessed the laptop’s hard drive, “Gigabytes and gigabytes of footage. I think the astronauts were recording it on a handheld camera and it automatically uploaded to this computer.”

“Skip ahead a bit,” Eustace said as they watched a group of astronauts talking and laughing, clearly relaxing in the same room they now stood.

Judy nodded and accelerated the tape, stopping as the background to the video changed. Now three astronauts could be seen walking on the rocky surface of a planet, bathed in a warm yellow glow.

“They must have been on the planet we’re orbiting, before it was destroyed,” Judy guessed, then a lump formed in her throat, “That’s my Dad, there,” She pointed at a figure kneeling and taking a rock sample, then looking up at the camera and laughing.

Will, sensing his sister’s pain, sidled closer to her and, lacking the courage to take her hand, pressed himself against her. Judy swallowed and smiled at Will’s concern, feeling for his hand and squeezing it.

“The air down there must ‘ave been breathable,” Eustace observed, noting the open helmet visors in the footage.

“This part is corrupted,” Judy frowned, skipping through a section of blurred and indecipherable video. Then, she froze, staring at a still frame frozen on screen, “Is that…?”

“Jesus!” Eustace exclaimed, calling to Rodriguez, “You ‘ave to see this!”

“It’s the same as on the water planet and the one where we…” Will trailed off.

Joining them, Rodriguez’s eyes almost popped out of his head, “The planet was a Ringworld?”

The footage showed Grant Kelly clambering on a vast metal structure, stretching into the distance as far as the eye could see. It was covered in a series of towers and emblazoned with countless strange runes.

“Bloody Awakened animation planet,” Eustace growled, “There must ‘ave been thousands of the bastards down there.”

“Look,” Rodriguez breathed.

The footage had jumped ahead to a shaky view of the planet, its huge construction no longer visible. The camera was clearly being held by a someone running, and the shot changed to show Kelly hot on their heels, frantically motioning for them to go faster.

“Pause it there,” Eustace instructed, “Can we see what’s chasing ‘em?”

Judy did something on the keyboard and the picture enlarged, focusing on the dust cloud behind Kelly. Within it were countless glints of silver.

Judy skipped to the next shot, which had evidently been taken from inside the Fortuna’s landing craft. The engines fired and it lurched off the ground, kicking up a plume of dirt. The watching Humans jerked back instinctively as a spidery figure launched itself directly toward the camera, crashing into the lander’s window. Its head turned, revealing a glowing red faceplate.

“Bloody ‘ell,” Eustace muttered as the screen faded to black, “Is there more?”

“Yes, but it’s corrupted,” The frustration was evident in Judy’s voice, “Wait… There’s a few more seconds at the end.”

The final moments of the footage took place back on the surface of the planet. Kelly, his helmet gone and brow dripping with sweat, stood atop the metal structure that encircled the planet. He held a brightly glowing object above his head and brought it down hard against one of the runes. The resulting flash had evidently been so bright that it prevented the camera from recording anything more than white light. Then, the footage cut out altogether.

This time, it was Robot that recoiled from the screen.

“What happened?” Judy had more questions than answers.

“I’m sorry, Judy,” Will said quietly.

“What was that bright thing the bloke was holding?” Eustace asked.

Will looked at Robot and closed his eyes for a second, “Robot says… It’s kinda like a heart.”

“A heart?” Eustace sounded even more confused.

“Commander Rodriguez?” Frost’s voice crackled over the radio, “You need to see this.”

Exchanging glances, Rodriguez and Eustace made off back down the hallway, closely followed by the others.

As they passed the airlock, Robot stopped.

“What is it?” Will stopped too, failing to notice the others disappearing into the darkness.

Robot said nothing. He seemed to be examining an area of panelling opposite the open airlock, the whirls on his faceplate purple with curiosity.

“What is it, Frosty?” Eustace arrived marginally ahead of Rodriguez, courtesy of his superior aerodynamics.

Frost was staring at something in a particularly dark corner of the engineering bay. Brushing past him, Rodriguez went to investigate.

It was the dismembered remains of an Awakened warrior.

“How the…” For once, even the Spaniard was lost for words.

The silvery skin of the robot was tarnished, as if it had lain there for a very long time. It was broken into pieces, mostly disassembled, but the main absentee was the contents of its torso – all that remained was a metal shell.

“A heart,” Eustace breathed, “They took out its heart…”

“Did this ‘heart’ destroy the planet?” Rodriguez turned to ask Will and Robot. He looked around, puzzled when he couldn’t see them, “Where are they?”

Judy was suddenly uneasy, “Will!” She called, “Will, where are you?”

“Just coming,” Will replied over the radio, “I thought Robot had found something.”

Judy sighed in relief.

“Did you fix the power?” Rodriguez asked Frost.

Frost nodded, “Yes, there’s still some juice left in the batteries. I’ll fire them up now.”

“At least we’ll ‘ave some light,” Eustace muttered fervently, “This place gives me the creeps.”

Frost threw a circuit breaker on the wall and a dull whine was suddenly audible. Judy cocked an eyebrow, “Sound… That means life support.”

“About bloody time,” Eustace agreed.

Frost consulted a series of gauges mounted on a console, “Seems like there’s some oxygen left, too.”

“But what about the airlock? We left it open,” Judy remembered.

An alarm began to blare, its volume increasing as the interior pressurised.

Will stopped pressing his helmet against the plating that had been of such interest to Robot and lifted his head. In addition to the alarm, he could hear a humming sound coming from the plate in question, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up, “Can you hear that?”

Robot said nothing.

Will realised that, as the noise got louder, he was sinking slowly to the floor, “This ship must have artificial gravity like the Resolute,” He explained to Robot, “That’s so cool!”

Robot didn’t seem particularly interested in the gravity. It was the plating that concerned him. The humming increased in both volume and pitch until it was almost unbearable and Will instinctively pressed his hands to his helmet, trying to shut the sound out.

Suddenly, Robot seemed to realise something. He threw out one of his strong upper limbs, knocking Will to the floor in a heap.

“Ouch,” Will said, confused, “Why did you…” He looked up just in time to see Robot go crashing into the panel, his body pinned to it as if compelled by some unseen force. His servos whirred as he tried to get free, but it was no use. His faceplate displayed a mix of colours Will had never seen before as he turned his head to face the boy, “Danger, Will Robinson.”

The alarm was abruptly shut off. Despite the almost deafening humming emanating from the wall, Will was suddenly aware of a hissing sound coming from the airlock behind him.

 _Air escaping_ , his brain told him calmly.

_What air?_

That was when the first bulkhead dropped from the ceiling.

The one on the opposite side to Will came down first, sealing off the pressurised living area from the open airlock.

“Danger, Will Robinson,” Robot said again, an uncanny note of desperation in his electronic voice.

The second bulkhead dropped from directly above Will. He tried to dive clear and almost succeeded, but a split second too late. The slab of composite alloy fell like a stone, crushing his ankle against the floor.

Everyone heard Will’s scream.

Judy got to him first. Will was unconscious, his body limp on the floor. His eyelids fluttered inside his helmet and sweat trickled down his forehead, his skin a deathly pale. From the other side of the bulkhead came the sounds of escaping air and Robot repeating the word, “Danger.”

“Will, can you hear me?” Judy knelt by her brother. She shook his arm and checked his vitals on his wrist communicator, “He’s unresponsive.”

“’Is suit must be damaged,” Eustace spotted Will’s visor icing up on the inside, “We need to free ‘im and get that bulkhead down.”

“Robot!” Judy yelled, “We need your help!”

“Danger, danger, danger,” Robot just repeated.

“Looks like we’ll ‘ave to do it ourselves,” Eustace joined Rodriguez at the base of the bulkhead, “Ready?”

“ _Tres, dos, uno_ ,” Together they strained to lift the bulkhead, “GRRRRAAAAAAH!” Rodriguez roared with exertion. Although they couldn’t life the slab by much, they gave Judy and Frost enough space to pull Will clear.

“Okay!” Judy called.

Eustace and Rodriguez released the door. It crashed down fully, stopping the air escaping and preventing them from hearing Robot on the other side any longer.

“Take his helmet off,” Judy instructed Frost. He carefully removed the plexiglass bowl and cradled Will’s head while Judy examined his injuries, “His ankle’s dislocated, probably broken.”

Rodriguez leant back against the wall, hands on his bald head. Eustace caught his eye, their unspoken conversation clear.

 _We should never have let him come_.

Judy unstrapped the trauma pack from her belt and dug into it, “Does this ship have a medbay?”

“We will find it. Come on, Lieutenant,” Rodriguez and Eustace pounded off down the hallway.

“Check his pulse,” Judy told Frost, producing a blade and cutting open the sleeve of Will’s suit.

Frost fumbled for it and shook his head anxiously, “I can barely feel it, his skin is really cold.”

Judy nodded, swabbing Will’s bare arm and preparing a syringe, “Adrenaline going in. Try to keep him calm while I work.”

Frost nodded, watching as Judy confidently made the injection. Instantly, Will’s head jerked up and he started coughing, struggling for air.

“It’s okay, Will,” Frost adjusted his position to support Will’s head, “Just try and breathe.”

Will tried, the coughing turning to gasping, tears in his eyes from the pain, “Where… Where…”

“Try not to talk, Will,” Judy said, working on a second syringe, “I know it hurts, but this’ll help.”

“Where… Is… Robot?” Will managed.

If Judy hadn’t been in doctor mode, she would have rolled her eyes. _All he thinks about is that damn Robot._

“He’s outside,” Judy moved Will’s hand so it rested on Frost’s arm, “When it hurts, squeeze.”

“Great, thanks,” Frost said sarcastically, but winked at Will.

“Morphine going in,” Judy administered the injection. Frost felt Will’s body relax a little.

“Better?” Judy asked, “Out of ten?”

Will managed a few deep, stuttering breaths, “Five, maybe six…”

Judy nodded, “We can work with six.”

“You’re doing really well,” Frost added.

*CLANG*

Eustace and Rodriguez came careering around the corner, stretcher clutched between them.

“We found the medbay, it’s proper,” Eustace said breathlessly as they deposited the stretcher next to Will.

“I found a splint,” Rodriguez added, handing it to Judy.

“Thank you,” Judy said, “I’ll immobilise his leg, then we’ll move him.”


	8. The Awakened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, we find out more about Ensign Frost, who was a member of the sixth colonist group. He makes a terrible discovery and the boarding party find a way to get the injured Will back to the Jupiter. During all this, Captain Julius has a dinner party.

**_Subject:_ ** _Ensign Joshua Matthew Frost, Technician_

**_Age:_ ** _19_

**_Place of Birth:_ ** _California, United States of America_

**_Qualifications:_ ** _[REDACTED]_

**_Experience:_ ** _[REDACTED]_

**_Biography:_ **

_The product of a marriage between two engineers, Ensign Frost travelled to the colony on Alpha Centauri at a young age as part of the Sixth Wave. His parents were members of the team tasked with the construction of the UNSS Ganges, leading to him spending much of his early life completely submerged in technical diagrams and blueprints – not to mention constant conversation around engineering in a zero-gravity environment._

_Frost is a credit to the schooling system of the colony. Since before he embarked on the Resolute, his unusually high test scores and aptitude for all things mechanical had been noted, but his attributes truly blossomed throughout his formative years on Alpha Centauri. It is a shame he decided not to join the colony’s development team, but I suspect his early uprooting from Earth, coupled with time spent alone while his parents worked on the UNSS Ganges, left him craving a sense of belonging. This is something the First Fleet certainly provides._

_Frost was selected for officer training and fast-tracked through, possibly due to the exceptional standards set by his parents. Whilst this did not do him any favours, he has adapted to his posting aboard the UNSS Huntsman well – and despite, I might add, the less than supportive attitude of Commander Alexander Clarke._

_Frost is one of the youngest members of our crew, yet he could well be the most promising with careful nurture. The opportunity to learn from his more experienced colleagues will be invaluable and it is important he is afforded as many challenges as possible._

**_Report by Commander Chin Liu, Head of Medical – UNSS Huntsman_ **

* * *

“’Ow you feeling, mate?” Eustace looked down at Will critically, head cocked slightly on one side.

Although outdated, the Fortuna’s medbay contained enough supplies for Judy to work with and Will now lay propped up on a bed, breathing from an oxygen mask clutched in a slightly trembling hand.

“I’m okay,” Will said bravely, managing a weak smile, “Have you got Robot free yet?”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” Eustace replied awkwardly, “The electromagnet ‘idden in wall is wired to the ship’s mainframe. To turn it off, we’d ‘ave to shut the whole ship down.”

“Can’t we do that?” Will pressed, anxious. His face tightened as a wave of pain washed over him and he took another shaky breath from his mask.

“That would cut power to life support. And some of us don’t ‘ave working suits,” Eustace glanced pointedly at where Will’s suit had been sliced open at his shoulder and thigh, an intravenous line taped to his forearm.

“Let’s just worry about you, for now,” Judy looked up from where she was painstakingly fitting a protective boot around Will’s ankle, “Robot will be fine.”

Frost suddenly burst in, his face ashen, “Do you want the bad news, or the really bad news?”

“Oh, I dunno, the bad news,” Eustace growled, irritated.

“Bad news,” Rodriguez agreed.

“We’re losing air, and fast,” Frost informed them, “The hull integrity must be compromised, or maybe those bulkheads aren’t completely airtight. At this rate, we’ve only got around thirty minutes of oxygen left.”

“Great,” Eustace muttered sarcastically.

“Really bad news?” Rodriguez demanded.

“I found a telescope,” Frost replied.

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Judy remarked, finishing with the boot.

“Yeah, I… I think you’d better come and see for yourself,” Frost led Rodriguez and Eustace to a plexiglass observation dome, a few metres down the hall from the medbay. A bulky metal tube was poised beneath it.

Rodriguez frowned, hunkered down and peered through the telescope. He jerked back immediately, _“¡Santamaria!”_

“What?” With no regard for rank or protocol, Eustace elbowed Rodriguez out of the way and looked for himself.

The lens was focused on an area of space in the far distance. A huge number of silvery bodies were floating in orbit around the rocky remains of the fractured planet, illuminated in the yellow glow of the system’s star. They were the twisted carcasses of countless Awakened warriors.

“Jesus,” Eustace murmured, “It’s a flipping blood bath.”

“They must have escaped before the astronauts blew up the planet,” Frost suggested, fear in his voice.

Eustace noticed this, “What’re you scared of? Those bastards are long dead.”

“They’re not,” Frost said quietly, “I saw one of them move.”

“Impossible,” Rodriguez pressed his eye against the telescope again and frowned, “Something is… Different…”

This time it was Frost’s turn to shove Rodriguez out of the way, “Oh God,” He whispered, “They were twice as far away before.”

Rodriguez and Eustace locked eyes, the Spaniard voicing both of their thoughts, “Time to go.”

They returned to the medbay, Judy frowning when she saw their worried expressions, “What’s wrong?”

“Have you found a way to help Robot?” Will asked hopefully.

“No,” Eustace replied.

“We need to get off this ship,” Rodriguez prowled around the room, examining each piece of equipment as if it may hold a vital clue, “How do we get the casualty to the Jupiter?”

“’The casualty’ has a name,” Will mumbled. Judy shot him a look.

“We stripped all the spare suits out of the Jupiter,” Eustace growled, “And we only ‘ave adult ones on the Cormorant.”

“Solutions, Ensign Frosty?” Rodriguez demanded.

Frost thought for a moment, then had a brainwave, “On the way over, I noticed the Fortuna’s repair pod is still attached. It’s small and only designed for one person, but…”

“But that means we can fly it into the Jupiter’s garage,” Eustace finished, “You’re a genius, mate!”

Rodriguez nodded, “Can you fly it?”

“Um, well, yeah… I guess,” Frost managed.

“Good. You will fly the casualty to the Jupiter,” Rodriguez turned to Eustace, “Once they are gone, we will use the escape airlock for EVA.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Eustace went to Will, “Come on, let’s get you out of ‘ere.”

* * *

“That, Paul, was delicious,” Julius wiped his mouth with a napkin and leant back in his chair, completely full.

“I’m glad it was to your satisfaction,” Travers smiled from across the table. He had prepared the meal they had just eaten, branded ‘a taste of home’.

“Mrs Robinson, are you feeling unwell? You’ve barely eaten,” Julius turned to see the full plate belonging to another of the guests seated in the dining area of his cabin.

“Please, call me Maureen, and it was very good,” Maureen said, somewhat apologetically, “I’m just not hungry.”

John finished demolishing his second helping and looked up, “You need to eat,” Maureen shot him one of her ‘don’t tell me what to do’ looks and he held his hands up in defeat, “Okay, okay.”

“Very tasty indeed, Commander Travers,” Kamal said, the remaining member of the dinner party.

A message flashed up on Travers’ wrist communicator. He consulted it briefly before speaking, “The relief watch has just taken over and our jump drive seems to be holding up well.”

The Huntsman had been in faster than light travel for more than six hours. Once rudimentary repairs had been made the bridge crew had stood down, giving the officers much needed time to rest.

“We’ll remain in FOL for around seventy-two hours,” Julius explained for the benefit of the others present, “Then we’ll find a quiet star system to repair our communications array and contact Alpha Centauri. As soon as we’re sure we weren’t followed, we can make our way there and join your children. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of days.”

John nodded, “And what are the chances we were followed?”

Julius looked at Travers who shrugged, “Quite high, but it is unlikely they will be able to chase us non-stop for three days. Our jump drives have a very different architecture.”

“Is there a way to find out if they made it okay?” Maureen asked.

“I’m afraid, Maureen, without our communications array there isn’t. We’ll just have to sit tight,” Julius replied sympathetically.

“Captain Kamal, if you don’t mind my asking, I should like to gain some more insight into Doctor Adler’s death,” Travers ventured, changing the subject.

Kamal nodded, “He took the Resolute’s navigator down to the surface of the planet. I never saw either of them again. He should never have risked Will’s life like that.”

“Did Will mention anything to you?” Travers looked at John and Maureen.

John frowned, “Not much.”

“We didn’t have a lot of time,” Maureen added.

“I know they were trying to heal the robot with a lightning strike, though,” John continued, “They thought the huge ring around the planet’s equator was where it got its power.”

“They weren’t far wrong,” Julius growled under his breath.

“Now I think about it, Will said something about Ben getting caught in the lightning,” Maureen remembered.

Travers nodded, “I see,” He turned to Julius, “If you don’t mind, I should like to be the one to inform his family when we arrive at the colony. Myself and Doctor Adler were… Close, once.”

Julius nodded sadly, “Of course, Paul. Take as much time as you need.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Travers said stoically.

“I just hope they made it through okay,” Maureen murmured, her mind still clearly on the Jupiter.

“Your daughter makes an excellent Captain,” Julius reassured her, “I’m sure every child aboard that ship is safe and well.”

* * *

Will squeezed painfully into the cramped cockpit of the repair pod, grimacing whenever his damaged ankle brushed the floor. Frost, midway through the engine start sequence, pressed himself against the wall to give Will as much room as possible.

“This is cosy,” Frost remarked.

Will managed a half-smile. Even though he had been supported by Judy and Eustace, the short hop along the hallway had been almost unbearable. He’d thrown up twice.

“What about Robot?” He asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Frost, finishing with the engines, frowned and peered out of the pod’s open hatch at Eustace, “Don’t forget, we need that robot to navigate us out of here.”

Eustace cursed under his breath. Of course they did. “I’ll take care of it,” He growled, marching off down the hallway.

“Are you okay, Will?” Judy’s head appeared through the hatch, worry etched on her face, “We’ll see you back on the Jupiter.”

Will nodded weakly.

“I’ll look after him,” Frost said warmly.

Judy smiled her thanks and swung the hatch closed. It sealed with a low hiss. Frost settled into the confined space as best he could and laid his hands on the controls.

“Thank you,” Will said suddenly.

“For what?” Frost asked, releasing the docking clamps.

“For getting them to help Robot,” Will replied.

“ _¡Yo cago en el leche de tu puta madre!_ ” Rodriguez yelled for the second time that day, stomping down the hallway. Eustace and Judy were right behind him, “So we have to help the alien too now, yes?”

“It’s the only way we can get to Alpha Centauri,” Eustace explained, struggling to keep up.

“ _Santamaria_ ,” Rodriguez exclaimed, “I do not like leaving you here, Lieutenant.”

Eustace sighed, “Look, just make sure Captain Judy gets to the Jupiter safely. Cutting the power should only take around ten minutes – I’ll be right behind you.”

Rodriguez frowned, “You are sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Eustace disappeared in the direction of engineering. Rodriguez led Judy to the escape airlock.

“Transport Jupiter, come in?” Frost called over the radio.

“Reading you, loud and clear,” Schwartz replied immediately.

“We’re on our way,” Frost fired the repair pod’s thrusters and broke loose from the Fortuna. The pod was surprisingly intuitive to control and Frost quickly mastered it, sending the tiny capsule arcing towards the Jupiter with a deft flick of his wrist.

“Ugh…” Will fought the urge to be sick again, clamping both hands over his mouth.

“Please don’t, not in here,” Frost muttered.

“The hatch is closed!” Penny’s voice crackled over the radio.

“Opening garage doors,” Schwartz threw a switch on the Jupiter’s control panel, “You’re clear to enter, take it nice and slow.”

Frost wiped the swiftly forming beads of sweat from his brow, ignoring the droplets of moisture as they floated away in the zero-gravity environment. He had just spotted the swiftly dwindling fuel gauge on the panel in front of him – like the Fortuna itself, it seemed they had a leak.

“This could get bumpy,” Frost gritted his teeth, trying to use the smallest bursts of thrust possible to line the pod up with the open garage door. Will nodded and braced himself against the pilot’s seat.

Using the final dregs of fuel, Frost sent the pod tumbling forwards into the Jupiter’s garage. An agonising moment later, they were inside.

*BANG*

Unable to stop, the pod impacted the far wall of the garage, rocking both the Jupiter and the Cormorant attached. Will was unable to stop himself flying forwards and cried out as his damaged ankle hit the control panel.

“Close the doors,” Frost said on the radio, then looked at Will guiltily, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s… Fine…” Will managed, grimacing in pain.

The pod’s hatch swung open, revealing Penny on the other side, “Are you guys okay?”

“Will’s hurt,” Frost replied, “Help me get him out.”

With help from Schwartz and a few of the older children, they manoeuvred Will out of the hatch and hoisted him up the ladder, half carrying him to the bunk room. Shaky with exhaustion, Will collapsed on one of the beds.

“Get some rest, kid,” Schwartz turned to leave, “We’ll need you when the robot gets here.”

“How are you doing, Lieutenant?” Rodriguez addressed Eustace, his hand clamped around Judy’s arm as his thruster pack propelled them towards the Cormorant.

“I’m working on it,” Eustace replied from engineering.

Something made Judy look back over her shoulder. He eyes widened, “They’re… They’re coming…”

Rodriguez followed her gaze. The Awakened warriors he had previously thought dead were closing in fast on the Fortuna, their silver skin glinting in the yellow starlight.

“If they follow us through the rift, they die,” Rodriguez said in what was clearly an attempt to sound reassuring.

“Penny, start the engines,” There was a hint of panic in Judy’s voice, “We need to leave as soon as everyone’s on board.”

“On it,” Penny gave Will’s shoulder a quick squeeze and jogged out of the room, leaving him with Frost perching at the foot of his bed.

A moment later a small boy appeared in the doorway, trailing a fluffy dinosaur in his hand. He looked at Will first, then his eyes flicked to Frost and froze, staring at his strange uniform.

Frost laughed, “You can come in.”

The boy considered this for a second, then cautiously made his way to Will’s bedside. Keeping one eye on Frost, he reached up and pressed the dinosaur into Will’s hand.

“Here you go.”

Will managed a tired smile, “Thank you. But, don’t you need him?”

“It’s okay,” The boy replied seriously, “Pogo makes me feel better. He’ll make you feel better, too,” He turned and trundled out.

Frost grinned at Will, “You’ve made a lot of friends.”

* * *

“Bloody bastarding bloody bastard-bastard!” Eustace cursed furiously, wrestling with a seized circuit breaker on the wall. He was moments away from cutting the power and releasing the trap that held Robot, doubtless installed in the wall by the astronauts as a last line of defence. It was probably how they captured the Awakened warrior that lay in pieces behind him.

Or at least, used to lay behind him.

Eustace jumped in shock as he realised the robot had vanished. Fumbling with his helmet flashlight, he shone it into the darkened corner and a terrible sensation of dread swept over him as he confirmed the warrior had indeed disappeared without trace.

Growling under his breath, Eustace went back to work with renewed urgency.

It took him around thirty seconds to finish the final steps of the shutdown process. He dropped his visor and threw a switch, his feet leaving the floor as the artificial gravity deactivated.

Then he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

*HISS*

The Fortuna depressurised, its atmosphere disappearing through the unseen hull breach. The lights flickered off next, leaving only the glow of Eustace’s flashlight to illuminate the room.

*GRRRRRR*

The sound was distinctly electronic and came from the doorway behind him. Eustace, a veteran of many conflicts, almost couldn’t bring himself to turn around. When he did, the sight that met his eyes was horrifying.

The Awakened warrior had come to life and reconfigured itself into vaguely humanoid being, powerful arms and legs fastened to an empty, gaping torso. Blue sparks flew from its joints as it wobbled towards him, apparently making repairs. Its head was still in the process of reattachment, but the faceplate displayed a dim red glow that grew brighter by the second.

*CLANG*

“Eyes on the Enlightened,” Schwartz reported from the cockpit of the Cormorant, “It just left the Fortuna’s airlock.”

“Get back here, Lieutenant,” Rodriguez ordered.

“Yeah, about that…” Eustace backed away from his assailant, “Remember that dead alien? The one on board the Fortuna?”

“Yes?” Rodriguez sounded puzzled.

“Well… It’s not dead anymore,” Eustace made a lunge for the door, but the robot swung a razor-sharp claw, missing him by a whisker. There was no way out, “The bastard’s got me cold. I can’t get to the airlock.”

“Uh… Guys? The evil robots have reached the Fortuna,” Penny reported from the cockpit of the Jupiter as she stared out of the windshield, “They’re climbing on it, actually.”

In the cargo bay of the Cormorant, Rodriguez and Judy looked at each other in horror.

“Get to your ship and prepare to depart, Captain. I will deal with this,” Rodriguez instructed. Judy nodded and disappeared down the tunnel connecting the two ships as Rodriguez opened the Cormorant’s airlock, “I am coming for you, Lieutenant!”

“You know there’s no bloody time for that,” Eustace headed in the opposite direction to the robot, making for the engine room. He knew it was a dead end, “Take the kids and get out of here.”

“NEGATIVE, LIEUTENANT!” Rodriguez bellowed, stepping inside the airlock and depressurising, “I do not leave men behind!”

“How are the engines coming?” Judy burst into the Jupiter’s cockpit.

“Done,” Penny turned to greet her, “We’re good to go.”

“And where’s Will?” Judy strapped herself into the pilot’s seat.

“In the bunk room, with one of the space guys. He’s actually kinda hot,” Penny mused.

Judy shook her head, exasperated, “You need to stay focussed.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Miss I-can’t-walk-past-the-handsome-tall-dark-engineer-guy-without-blushing,” Penny muttered, taking her seat.

“You’re needed on the Cormorant, keeping the kids safe,” Eustace reached the engine room and punched a button on the wall, dropping the fire door from the ceiling and sealing the room off. Seconds later, an energy burst hit the other side as the robot’s weapons came back online, “There’s no point in you sacrificing yourself too.”

“What do you mean ‘sacrificing yourself’, Lieutenant?” Rodriguez froze, halfway out the airlock.

“Get clear of the Fortuna,” Eustace said grimly, turning towards the bank of dials, gauges and switches that controlled the Fortuna’s nuclear engine, “I’m gonna make the second biggest bang the universe ‘as ever seen.”


	9. Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this penultimate chapter, we say goodbye to a brave member of the crew and the children make their second attempt to reach the Alpha Centauri.

*CLANK*

*CLANK*

*CLANK*

Robot burst through the door to the bunk room, arms whirling and faceplate displaying a shade very close to red. He saw Frost perched on the end of Will’s bed and surged towards him, an energy burst building at the tip of his claws.

“Woah, woah!” Frost leapt up and backed away into a corner, startled.

“It’s okay,” Will said as loudly as he could manage, “He’s a friend. He’s been helping me.”

Robot paused for a moment, then the colours on his faceplate slowly transitioned to blue. He turned and dropped to one knee beside where Will lay, head cocked slightly on one side, “Friend.”

“Yes, friend,” Will smiled, motioning for Frost to abandon his defensive position in the corner.

Robot considered this for a moment. Then he turned his head to examine the boot protecting Will’s ankle, “Danger,” His faceplate turned to purple waves of concern.

“I’ll be okay,” Will explained, “I’m just hurt, like Scarecrow was. Humans don’t need lightning to get better, they can heal by themselves. It just takes time and…” He let out a little moan of pain as Robot prodded his ankle with an inquiring finger, “It… Hurts, a bit. Quite a lot, actually.”

“ _Ahem,_ ” Frost cleared his throat pointedly, maintaining a wary distance from Robot.

“Right,” Will remembered, “Robot, I need you to take us to Alpha Centauri. But… Actually take us there, this time. Okay?”

Robot looked at him blankly.

“Maybe he doesn’t know where it is?” Frost suggested.

“He has to,” Will replied, “Before I met him, he used to pilot a ship, just like Scarecrow.”

“Maybe his race calls it something different,” Frost said.

A look of realisation crossed Will’s face, “Robot, can you show me those maps again?”

Robot reached forward and gently cupped Will’s chin in a huge metal palm, the colours of his faceplate turning a deep shade of blue. Will’s eyelids fluttered and closed as the alien joined their minds together.

“Oh… Oh… You were right…” Will murmured, “What… What does… Alpha Centauri… Look like?”

Frost couldn’t help but remember Eustace’s shanty, “The first planet is named Beinor, next Agri off Pholus, Eury, Cyllar and Amy, then Dictys, Perimedes and Chrion.”

As Frost named the last planet, Will gasped, “He… He knows that planet… I think he’s been there… They call it…” He said something in a strange, alien tongue, then his eyes flickered open, “Please take us there, Robot.”

Robot released Will and stood, regarding Frost with mechanical mistrust. Then, he spoke, “Yes, Will Robinson,” And turned to leave.

* * *

“For Pete’s sake, Jack, we’ll come and get you!” Schwartz shouted over the radio.

“Negative, mate,” Eustace worked feverishly on the Fortuna’s engine control panel, sweat pouring from his brow. Another energy burst hit the door, discolouring the metal on the inside, “Reckon I’ve finally found my calling. Took me bloody long enough.”

“ _¡Santamaria!”_ Rodriguez’s voice exclaimed on-frequency.

“Right, that should do it,” Eustace discarded his screwdriver, “I suggest you get moving. This baby is gonna go up like a squirrel with ‘is tail on fire.”

“GRAAH!” Rodriguez appeared in the cockpit of the Cormorant, apparently furious. Outside, a handful of Awakened warriors pushed off from the hull of the Fortuna and began to make their way towards the two ships.

“They’re coming,” Judy said quietly, hands poised on the controls of the Jupiter.

“Our navigator’s ready,” Frost appeared behind her, “Just say the word.”

“AAAARGH!” Rodriguez punched the wall of the shuttle, “Lieutenant Schwartz, release the tunnel. Captain Robinson, make your jump.”

“Aye, sir,” Schwartz jettisoned the translucent tube that linked the two ships together.

Judy motioned to Frost, “This is it. Let’s go.”

“I hope Robot gets it right this time,” Penny murmured.

Shards of blue light eminated from the Jupiter’s garage, almost blinding the Schwartz at the controls of the Cormorant. Rodriguez strapped himself into his seat grimly, muttering obscenities in Spanish under his breath.

“Give my love to your Mum, Drew!” Eustace called cheekily, throwing a switch and ducking as an energy burst penetrated the fire door, “T-minus ten seconds.”

“I hate you so much,” Schwartz growled, spinning the shuttle around to follow the Jupiter. It disappeared in a bright flash, leaving nothing but the swirling mass of rift behind.

“Good luck, Lieutenant Eustace,” Rodriguez finally managed to compose himself, “Give them hell.”

“Don’t you bloody worry about that!” Eustace braced himself as the Awakened warrior finally broke through the door.

_“Farewell and adieu to you, Spanish Ladies…”_

Schwartz slammed the Cormorant’s throttle handles forward and the shuttle shot forwards into the rift. Behind them, from the depths of the Fortuna’s engine room, a nuclear explosion blossomed.

* * *

“Look, over there!” Penny yelled, releasing her harness and leaping to the front of the Jupiter to gaze out of the windshield, “It’s just like in the pictures… Alpha Centauri!”

“We made it,” Judy slumped back in her seat, suddenly overcome by exhaustion and relief, “I can’t believe we made it.”

“I’ll let everyone know!” Penny bounced out of the cockpit, “We’re here, we’re at the colony!”

A cheer went up in the rear of the Jupiter, the circumstances of their arrival momentarily forgotten. The children hugged one another while Penny went to find Will.

“You did it!” She threw her arms around him. Will winced but returned the hug.

“I didn’t,” He said quietly, barely able to breathe in Penny’s embrace, “Robot did.”

In the cockpit of the Cormorant, the mood was considerably more sombre.

“It worked, then,” Schwartz observed, bringing the shuttle alongside the Jupiter.

“Yes,” Rodriguez agreed.

_“This is the UNSS Warden calling unidentified vessels. You are entering restricted space. Change your course immediately, or you will be fired upon.”_

“This is Lieutenant Schwartz aboard the UNSS Cormorant, hold your fire,” Schwartz replied immediately, “We are escorting a Jupiter carrying children from the Resolute colony vessel. They have the ship’s jump drive on board, along with a member of the Enlightened race.”

There was a stunned silence before the Warden replied, “Understood, Cormorant. You are clear to dock with UNSS Ganges. Use ports five and six.”

“Affirmative,” Schwartz confirmed, “The Jupiter also has a casualty aboard.”

“We will have a medical team standing by,” Was the reply.

“Did you get that, Captain?” Rodriguez asked Judy.

“I did,” Judy replied, “I’ll dock us now.”

“The UNSS Warden is another Huntsman-class destroyer,” Frost explained from behind her, “You see that big hunk of metal over there?”

Judy did see that big hunk of metal over there. She nodded.

“That’s the Ganges orbital platform, the Fleet’s base. You can see the UNSS Ranger docked at port one.”

As the Jupiter drifted closer to the enormous space station, Judy was able to make out the hulking hull of a ship near-identical to the Huntsman.

“Over there are the construction bays,” Frost was in full flow, “They’re building the UNSS Guardian and UNSS Archer. That’s the ship my parents are working on…” He trailed off, “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this.”

Judy smiled despite herself, “I guess we’ve already seen more than most.”

Frost nodded, “Yes, the colonists normally take their Jupiters down on the other side of the planet. They never get to see the Old Lady… I mean, the UNSS Ganges. That’s what we call her.”

“What’s it like? The colony, I mean?” Judy locked onto docking port five and initiated the autopilot.

“You get used to it,” Frost said thoughtfully, “I mean, you’ll probably love it. I just barely ever got to see my parents…” He instantly realised his insensitivity, “I’m sure yours will be here soon.”

“I’m not worried about them,” Judy lied, “They can look after themselves. I just hope they make it for the sake of all these kids,” She jerked a thumb in the direction of their passengers.

“The Huntsman is the finest ship in the Fleet,” Frost reassured her, “They couldn’t be in better hands.”

*CLUMP*

The Jupiter docked with the Ganges. There was a dull whine as its engines automatically began to shut down.

“Listen,” Judy said suddenly, “I wanted to thank you. For getting my brother off the Fortuna safely. I… I don’t know what I would have done…”

“Don’t mention it,” Frost said quickly, “The way you looked after him was amazing. These kids couldn’t ask for a better Captain.”

Judy smiled at him sincerely, “Thank you.”

Somewhere behind them, a door hissed open, “Medics!”

“This way!” Penny’s voice called back.

“I guess I’d better go,” Judy said.

They embraced awkwardly.

“I’ll come and see how you’re getting on, later,” Frost mumbled, “I guess I’ll be on shore leave until my ship gets here.”

“I’d like that,” Judy smiled, making her way out of the cockpit to supervise the disembarking of her young charges.


	10. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter alert! Thank you so much for getting this far, I really hope you enjoyed! Please leave me a comment if you did :)  
> Will has a bad dream and goes to visit Ben Adler's family with an important message.

_“An appropriately safe distance.”_

_Those were the exact words Ben had used._

_“You’re the only one who truly knows what happened here.”_

_Will balls his hands into fists, brown eyes wide._

_“I’ve made mistakes, and you can tell them I tried to fix things before it was too late,” Ben continues._

_“Tell who?” Will asks._

_“My boys. My wife,” Ben drops to one knee so that he’s face-to-face with Will, “Can you do that for me?”_

_Will manages a nod._

_“I’m trusting you, Will,” Ben turns grimly to the door and steps outside, “But not enough to think you won’t follow me,” He punches the door release, locking the cockpit door._

_“NO! BEN, NO!”_

_Will is there again, trapped in the darkened cockpit of the Jupiter. He can’t help but move to the window, even though he knows what’s coming. He watches as Ben struggles to drag Scarecrow to the runes, lies down beside him, then disappears in the same blinding flash of light he always does._

_Will is thrown to the floor, the metal cold beneath him._

_“BEN!”_

_He lets out the same anguished, tortured cry as always._

_Before he knows it, he’s back at the window, staring at the chilling sight of countless alien robots, their faces red with fury._

_Then he’s at the radio, calling, yelling, screaming desperately for someone to answer._

_They never do. Not anymore._

_There’s a sound behind Will and he turns to see a huge robot in the cockpit, sharp claws scraping as it steps closer and closer. Will stumbles back and trips, crashing to the floor, air gone from his lungs. He breathes heaving, wracking, stuttering breaths, unable to escape, and then a hulking slab of metal comes down from the ceiling on top of him, pinning him against the floor while the robot moves closer and closer…_

“Will, are you okay?”

Will’s eyes snap open to find Penny looking down at him, a concerned expression on her face.

“I heard you shouting.”

“No, you didn’t,” Will denied automatically, sitting up and realising he’d been lying in a pool of sweat. The sheets were soaked through.

Penny wrinkled her nose, “Did you wet the bed? Or, you know, have a…”

“No! I’m fine,” Will leapt out of bed, then remembered he was wearing just his boxers and wrapped himself in a blanket, “It’s just, um, really hot in here.”

He pushed past Penny and headed straight for the bathroom, blanket trailing behind him.

“Morning, sleepy head,” Maureen called from somewhere down the hall. Will ignored her and lunged into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and pressing his back against it. The cool steel felt good against his bare skin and he shuddered, letting the blanket slide from his shoulders and slipping the bolt closed with trembling hands.

He stepped into the shower and ducked his head under the water, increasing the temperature until it was so hot he could barely take it. He stayed there for a while, the scalding water turning his skin red, digging his fingernails into his palms.

The nightmares had started soon after their arrival on Alpha Centauri. Judy had barely finished settling the children into their accommodation when the Huntsman arrived in orbit to a hero’s welcome. Will, Judy and Penny had queued for hours to catch the first glimpse of their parents stepping off the shuttle.

Will half-heartedly scrubbed at his hair and turned off the water, stepping out of the shower. He wrapped himself in a clean towel and, taking a deep, calming breath, headed back to his room and got dressed. He didn’t like the colony issue uniforms – they were loose, itchy and ill-fitting, in contrast to their high-tech surroundings. Just as well, then, that today he didn’t have to wear one.

Will made his way down the hallway and took a seat at the kitchen table, eying the pot of artificial coffee that sat in the centre with mistrust.

“You look smart, honey,” Maureen entered, smiling proudly. She stood behind him and brushed a speck of dust that Will was positive didn’t exist from his shoulder.

“Mom…” He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, fiddling with his knotted tie.

“Let me help,” John chuckled, depositing some form of plant-based protein on a plate.

“I’ve got it,” Will said sharply. He got up from his seat and went to retie it in the mirror at one end of the room.

John glanced at Maureen, “Will, is everything okay?”

Will hated being asked if everything was okay.

“Is there anything you want to talk about, honey?” Maureen added.

“I’m fine,” Will abandoned the tie and returned to the table, “Just a bit tired.”

“Haven’t you been sleeping?” Maureen split the protein into portions and placed one in front of him, “Because I can ask…”

“I’ve been sleeping fine, Mom,” Will lied, then heard Penny coming down the hallway, “I’ve gotta go.”

“But you haven’t eaten,” Maureen called after him.

Will was already halfway out the door. He didn’t want to be there when Penny told his parents she’d caught him having a nightmare again. Hopefully she’d believed his excuse that it was too hot, but deep down, Will knew she hadn’t.

“I’m not hungry!” Will shouted back.

“Hey, Will,” Judy was on her way up the path to their house. He almost ran into her.

“Hey, Judy,” Will forced a smile, “How was your shift?”

“You know, so-so,” Judy replied, “Your ankle’s still my finest work.”

To Judy’s surprise, Will laughed. He had been doing this less and less lately, making her wonder if the easy going, happy-go-lucky kid she’d known back on Earth had gone for ever. Although he was growing older and swiftly turning into a young man, he still had the same cute laugh he always did – the little upturn of the corners of his mouth, the wrinkle of his nose, the sparkle in his eyes. Judy smiled.

“You know I’m not going to ask if you’re okay,” She said carefully, “And you know I’m not going to ask if you had that dream again. But, supposing you weren’t okay, and supposing you did have that dream, you know I’m always here to talk, right? In private. Patient confidentiality. Captain’s log.”

Will laughed again, “I know, Judy… Uh, I mean, Captain.”

“Carry on, sailor,” Judy punched his shoulder and headed for the door, “Good luck today, by the way.”

Will descended the steps at the end of the path and felt a sudden twinge from his ankle. The treatment he had received aboard the UNSS Ganges had been state-of-the-art, putting his recovery months ahead of what it would have been on Earth – or even in the colony hospital. He was able to walk unaided, but under strict instructions not to ‘get too excited’ by both the Fleet medical staff and Judy in her unofficial role as family doctor.

As a result of his early exit from the house, he had to wait outside for a good ten minutes. The car that finally pulled up had clean, angular lines and was painted silver, with no wheels visible. On the door was a crest he now knew to be the First Fleet’s.

“Good morning, Will,” Travers, sitting upright on the back seat, pushed open the door. He looked resplendent in full dress uniform, tassels and gold braid draping his shoulders. Will suddenly felt self-conscious in his bland, colony-made suit.

“Why don’t you step inside.” Travers said kindly, his English tones smooth.

Will nodded and joined him on the back seat. The door closed with a barely audible swish.

“Adler residence,” Travers said to the driver.

“At once, Commander,” She replied.

The journey took no longer than fifteen minutes. Travers seemed comfortable in silence and didn’t say much, leaving Will alone with his thoughts. In truth, Will has glad of the chance to compose himself. Since Robot had agreed – as much as he was able to agree to anything – to work on the orbital platform, Will was seeing less and less of him. Yesterday, he hadn’t even answered his calls.

As they pulled up at a house on the outskirts of the colony, Travers suddenly turned to Will, “I think you are extraordinarily brave for going through with this.”

Will was taken aback, “Um, thanks…”

“If there is anything that I can do to make this easier for you…” Travers left the question unfinished.

Will smiled gratefully. “Thank you, it’s okay.”

Travers nodded, “Very well,” He addressed the driver, “Wait here.”

They stepped outside and approached the house. It was one of the more expensive varieties available to the inhabitants of the colony, but its yellowing façade revealed its age.

“Sixth wave,” Travers remarked, apparently reading Will’s mind.

Travers knocked on the door. All at once, Will’s heart began to pound and he was suddenly short of breath. His legs felt like jelly beneath him and he quickly stuffed his hands into his pockets to hide their shaking.

_Not now, please, not now…_

The door was opened by a tall woman, her blonde hair tied up in a bun. Like many of the colony’s longer serving residents, she wasn’t dressed in standard uniform and instead wore a flower-print blouse in the classic Alpha Centaurian style.

“Hello, Julie,” Travers said, his voice heavy.

“Paul,” Julie said, tears already forming in her eyes.

“I am so terribly sorry for your loss,” Travers began, then wrapped his arms around Julie as she leant forwards into him and began to cry, “Come on, we should go inside.”

Travers guided Julie into the house as if he had been there many times before. As they disappeared down the hallway a boy stepped forward, perhaps slightly older than Will.

“You’d better come in too,” He said curtly.

Will nodded and stepped over the threshold.

The boy closed the door behind him and stuck out a hand, “My name’s Thomas.”

Will shook it, his own hand still shaking, “Will.”

Thomas stared into Will’s eyes for a moment, his brilliant blue eyes seeming to pierce into Will’s very soul.

“Follow me,” He said abruptly, turning to lead the way to the living room.

Julie was sitting on a low sofa, opposite Travers who leant forwards, elbows resting on his knees. Next to Julie was another boy, almost identical to Thomas – he had his arm around the shoulders of his mother.

“My twin, Charles,” Thomas introduced the other boy with a waft of his hand, before taking a seat on the other side of his mother, “Here you go, Mum,” He handed her a tissue.

“It’s Charlie,” The other boy corrected, rolling his eyes a little, “You must be Will.”

Will nodded and sat on the same sofa as Travers, keeping what he felt was a respectful distance.

“Thank you, sweetie,” Julie wiped her eyes and squeezed Thomas’ shoulder. He sat bolt upright, his gaze focussed on a point somewhere above and behind Will.

“How are you doing, Julie?” Travers asked.

“As well as can be expected,” Julie replied, placing an arm around both of her sons, “We’ll get through this, just like we always do.”

“Ben was… I mean, he…” Travers seemed unable to articulate his thoughts.

Julie nodded, smiling through her tears, “I know, Paul. Thank you for coming.”

“It was the least I could do,” Travers sat upright on the sofa, “Julie, I would like you to meet Will.”

“The famous Will Robinson,” Julie turned her smile to Will, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Will cast his eyes down, unable to meet her gaze. Suddenly, all he could think about were Thomas’ eyes boring into the top of his skull.

“Have you started school here yet?” Charlie asked gently. Looking up, Will saw he had inherited his father’s smile.

“Not yet,” Will replied quietly, “I, um… I hurt my leg when we were… Um…”

“That must be why I haven’t met you yet,” Julie said, “I teach Chemistry here, you see. That was actually how Ben and I first met…” She trailed off, a wistful look in her eyes.

“We were told you had something to tell us?” Thomas asked crisply.

“Will was with your father when he landed on an alien planet,” Travers explained, “He gave Will a message to pass on to you.”

“He, um… He said to tell you that… To tell you that he’d made mistakes, but that he was trying to… Trying to fix them before it was too late. And he did.”

“What mistakes?” Thomas demanded.

“Thomas, I’m so sorry, but I’m afraid that’s classified,” Travers cut in before Will could reply, a pained expression on his features.

“Classified, Mr Travers? All I want is for you to tell me who killed my Dad!” Thomas stood, his hands balled into fists by his sides.

“Thomas!” Julie chided.

Travers frowned, wounded, “You know that you can call me Paul.”

“Well, _Paul_ ,” Thomas spat the name as if it were an insult, “I swear to God I’ll find out.” He turned on his heel and left.

Travers made as if to go after him, but Julie shook her head, “Leave him alone for now. He just needs time.”

“I, um… I’m so sorry.” Will ventured quietly.

“It’s okay, mate. It’s not your fault,” Charlie got to his feet and came over to Will, “It sounds like my Dad trusted you, which is good enough for me. Thanks for bringing us his message. If you need anything at school, make sure you come and find me.”

Charlie offered his fist to Will. It took Will a second to realise what he wanted, “Oh,” He bumped Charlie’s fist with his own, “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Charlie turned to follow his brother, “Lunch is in an hour, Mum.”

Julie smiled, “Charles does his best to look after us, he’s so much like his Dad. But I think Thomas always resented that Ben was gone for so long on the Resolute, so he has a lot of pent up anger.”

Travers nodded, “Well, if there’s anything I can do…”

“I know, Paul. Thank you,” Julie rose to show them out, “It was great to meet you, Will,” She said as they stepped out of the door, “I’m looking forward to working with you at school. I promise I’m not always this emotional,” She tittered a little.

Will smiled, “I’m looking forward to it, too.”


End file.
